Using Check & Connect to increase student attendance and academic performance

Check & Connect is a comprehensive intervention that emphasizes relationship building, problem solving, skill building, and capacity building (Christensen, Stout, & Pohl, 2012). Check & Connect has strong supporting research as a dropout prevention program and utilizes data to track implementation effectiveness. The graduation rate of students with disabilities is substantially less than students without disabilities (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996). Students identified with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) have some of the worst expectancies with regard to graduation (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996). In the state of Georgia, students with EBD comprise 6.83% of all students receiving special education related services. This presentation will cover the steps necessary to implement Check & Connect as a tiered intervention within a high school setting. To better frame the presentation and Check and Connect\u27s applicability to a diverse audience, the presenters will focus on the yearlong implementation of Check & Connect with a group of high school students participating in an alternative education placement for student with EBD