Allen, an eighth grader at Lake Dallas Middle School, joined the Communities In Schools of North Texas program in October 2014. He is one of my students that fully utilizes the CIS program.
Allen referred himself to CIS to help him with family conflict and career and college readiness. He was part of our first group of students that attended the AT&T Aspire Mentoring Academy Career Exploration Field Trip in the fall. When he joined the program, he has been really excited about the boy’s lunch group which would focus on their life experiences and how to view things from a different lens.
At the time, I did not have enough students to make a lunch group and when he realized that was the reason we had not started our 8th grade lunch groups, he began referring students he knew could benefit from the CIS program. Soon, our group was up and running.
After the second six weeks were over and report cards went out, I noticed Allen was struggling in a few classes, and he really needed help in one that he ended up failing. We sat down and talked about his grades and strategies he could use to get his grades up. He was really upset with himself about failing a class and he knew something had to change. I decided to give him a CIS Tutorial Tracking Sheet and I gave him the requirement of attending tutorials at least twice a week.
With this tracking sheet, Allen would have to get his teachers to sign every time he went to tutorials and turn it in at the end of the six weeks to prove he actually attended. By the end of the six weeks, he proudly turned in a full Tutorial Tracking Sheet. His teachers even made a note of how this sheet was the only way they have been able to get him to attend tutorials.
When the third six weeks report cards were released, Allen’s grades clearly reflected his hard work. He passed all his classes and only received one C. For the fourth six weeks, he was not required to have a tracking sheet, but he requested one because he knew that was the only thing that would keep him accountable. His hard work paid off again and for the fourth six weeks he passed all his classes with A’s and B’s.
Allen has set a goal for the fifth six weeks is to get all A’s, and with a little help and guidance, I know he can do it!
