Keeping students in school is a critical issue. Research has linked patterns in performance, attendance and behavior to propensity to drop out: for example, it is widely known that students who cannot read by third grade are at extreme risk. The work of prominent academics like Robert Balfanz of Johns Hopkins University's Center for Social Organization of Schools has further shown that dropout rate can be affected with innovative reforms like Diplomas Now, many of which rely on a team structure to support teachers and students.
Learning Management Teams
School Loop was founded on the idea that by involving additional adults who care about a student’s livelihood, we can increase the likelihood of that student staying in school, being successful, and graduating. School Loop does this by notifying these caring adults about important events involving the student, which in turn allows these same adults to intervene when necessary, keeping the student on track to graduation. School Loop Plus provides the tools that allow members of a Learning Management Team to work together to keep students in school and on track.
For practical reasons, in the "real" world, schools organize students around teachers in classes. We know, however, that helping kids to stay in school requires a student-centric focus that organizes adults around students. We also recognize that it would be physically impossible to organize this way in reality. On the other hand, online -- by using team technology and a collaborative architecture -- it's a snap.
For these teams to have an impact on the dropout rate, though, school must re-conceptualize their borders and offer, to quote a recent EdWeek article, "intensive social support." That support comes from a team dedicated to the success of each student. These teams should include members from inside the school system (teachers, counselors, etc.), as well as parents and people who work in after-school programs or other education-related settings. School Loop is designed to bring all those stakeholders into the loop (within FERPA and COPPA guidelines).
Noticing the trends about a student is hard in massive school systems. Problems, like chronic absenteeism or motivational opportunities (like moving from a D to a C), are nearly impossible to detect. School Loop is engineered around noticing things and enabling the Learning Management Team to intervene appropriately in order to address small problems before they become big problems.
Because everyone on the Learning Management Team is informed, redundancy of effort and and the loss of important information over time are minimized, resulting in a lower cost for intervention programs.
Intervention Tools
The scarcest commodity in schools is time, so making these tools easy to use and integrating them as a part of everyday activities is our primary goal. We give members of the Learning Management Team -- teachers, administrators, parents, coaches, counselors, after-school professionals and other school personnel -- the resources to notice when a student is having a problem that requires intervention.
Noticing trends in behavior, attendance, and performance and then intervening as a team can keep kids in school and catch problems before dropouts occur.
School Loop provides tools that help the Learning Management Team track students collaboratively:
Is 90% of Success Really Just Showing Up?
Sorry, Woody Allen -- in school, while 90% of failure is grounded in not showing up, 90% of success requires learning while you are there. While keeping kids in school is critical, keeping them motivated and behaved while present is also necessary. Most kids care that other people care about them and want to know that they matter -- the central benefit of the Learning Management Team is that if eight people know, one will act, and that student will know someone cares. And that can make all the difference in the world.
Watch our demo movie to learn more about School Loop Plus.