Armstrong High School Begins Program to Focus on Student Well Being
Students who are at-risk of dropping out of class may feel the temptation emerge as schools remain closed.
But educators at Armstrong High School in the Robbinsdale school district are hoping to prevent those students from falling through the cracks.
Armstrong High School principal Eric Norby said in the beginning of this school year, the school established the Building Assets, Reducing Risks program (BARR) to ensure academic success.
The program trains teachers and staff to monitor student’s academic and social-emotional growth.
“Teachers work as a team and discuss biweekly if there are student concerns. They may notice a students academic performance dip or behavior or attitudes are different. If there is anything negative academically, behavior or attendance, we can catch it,” said Norby.
Staff have moved to virtual weekly meetings with students to continue connecting with students, while working to identify students who may be struggling to adjust to distance learning.
BARR Starts with Freshmen
Currently, Armstrong High School is using the program with 9th graders.
“By the time when they get to 9th grade, if they don’t have decent skills of study habits, note taking, those academic pieces, their failure rate will increase incredibly in 9th grade,” Norby explained.
Norby said the number of students who are failing in at least one class has reduced since the program began.
BARR also uses strategies to build relationships with students.
“The relationships are meaningful, relationships are stronger between teachers and students and teachers and families,” Norby said. “I feel the students have a sense that teachers honestly care about them. It’s authentic. It’s real.”
Norby said teachers and students were able to build relationships on a deeper level, developing trust and accountability.
“There’s been more conversations about the well being of a student and it’s not necessarily academic. And that’s a shift I think we’re seeing develop positive impact in our building,” Norby added. “Even our behavior data is better.”
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