The start of the second semester is a crucial point for schools and districts. There has been sufficient time for teaching, learning, and assessment for educators to have an informed profile on each student's achievement and development. Districtwide and school-based programs initiated at the start of year are either demonstrating traction and engagement or need adjustments. The successes and challenges of the current school year have come into focus just as the intensive process of setting priorities, building budgets, and establishing plans for the next school year must begin. 

While intentions for the coming year do need to be articulated and budgeted for, this point in the year is a critical time for districts to identify any students who may be at risk for not graduating or meeting end-of-year benchmarks and intervene while there is still time to make a difference. Administrators must determine what can be adjusted in the current year to maximize learning, bring support where needed, and expand opportunities for students. 

Though educators, administrators, and school counselors work all year to support students who may not be on track to meet academic requirements, there is typically not adequate time or resources to proactively and strategically design and implement a process to systematically evaluate which students are struggling and pair that need with the right interventions. District and school administrators can lead the way in giving permission and guidance for counselors to take time in the first weeks of the semester to identify students who could benefit from a range of interventions and provide meaningful and productive support. Making a concerted, district-wide effort now to determine and work with students who are at risk of falling off track—not just those already in crisis–can have tremendous positive impacts at the district, school, and individual student level. 

Using a Wide Range of Indicators to Identify At-Risk Students

All too often, schools and districts look to failing grades as the primary marker for the need for intervention. With this, they are often only able to respond to students already in crisis or struggling. Identifying and intervening with students early, before this point, can greatly reduce the time and resources needed for support and minimize the long-term consequences to their academic trajectories. 

Research and experience have given educators a roadmap for warning signs to look for that often signal a student is trending toward falling off track. Metrics tracking student attendance, behavioral and disciplinary referrals, and the quality of students’ relationships and connections with peers and adults around them have all been shown to correlate with longer term academic outcomes, student wellbeing, and failure to graduate on time. Because of this, it is important for schools and districts to include a wide range of metrics and data points as they work to identify students who could use support at this juncture in the year: 

Attendance Data: If students are not present at school or in their classes, they are unable to keep up with assignments, stay engaged in the learning, benefit from the peer and adult support available at school, and are highly at risk for falling behind. Schools and districts should track attendance data–including both daily attendance as well as specific class attendance in high school–to monitor students who might be falling behind generally or in a particular course. Focused attention should be paid to students who have had an increase in their absence rate during the year and students who have a regular pattern of absences. Beyond attendance numbers, schools can look for recent clusters of absences, even if the overall number of absences does not exceed district thresholds for concern.

Behavior and Disciplinary Data: Student behavior and discipline issues can be some of the biggest red flags for students who are in or trending toward crisis. They can indicate conflicts with peers, struggles with academic learning, and the punitive consequences from these actions can lead to further disengagement from school. Tracking upticks in behavioral and disciplinary data, even for students who are doing okay academically, can be useful in identifying early issues and concerns. 

Mental Health and Wellness Data: Student mental health and wellbeing can play a major role in whether a student can fully engage in academic learning. And there can be a cyclical relationship between mental health struggles and academic issues. If schools or districts do any kind of wellness survey data or screeners, they might include these metrics to inform students who could benefit from additional support and outreach. Whether or not systemic data is available, the beginning of the second semester is an appropriate time to remind teachers, staff, and parents, to refer students for support for any reason.

Engagement  Data: When students are not connected to their learning or to those around them, they are much more likely to fall off track. Documenting and tracking if students are participating in at least one extracurricular activity (e.g., extracurricular clubs, sports, outside jobs), are meeting community service expectations, and/or have earned industry certifications or participated in work-based learning experiences can be serve as vital measures for how engaged they are in their learning and whether they have sufficient support networks around them. 

Taking Action to Help Students Find a Productive Path Forward

Use the data to identify district- and school-wide trends as well as specific students who fall into different tiers of concern and need. Think creatively from a district perspective on how to use policy, resources, and personnel to best support the needs of these students to reduce barriers, increase engagement, and provide relevant support to get them back on track. 

• Make a Plan to Use Time Beyond the Academic Day: For students who are struggling, consider using time before or after school, on Saturdays, during spring break, or in pull outs during the school day to provide additional academic support customized to meet the specific students’ needs. Make sure to build in transportation options for students who rely on buses to remove barriers for participation. The district might create clusters of schools for programming to ensure broad opportunities. Administrators should think about how to incentivize participation with offerings of meals, extra credit, or earning tickets to experiences within the community. Creating additional time for personalized instruction, remediation, and engagement can make a pivotal difference in getting students back on track and connected to their learning and goals. 

• Reconsider Makeup Grading Policies: Frequently, students get behind on coursework and feel like there is no hope for making it up because of strict and unforgiving makeup policies that do not provide passing credit for students who turn in work beyond a few days late. Consider a district-wide shift that prioritizes student learning and growth over compliance with timelines. By creating practices that ensure students still get credit for doing work, they encourage students to engage with the coursework in a way that promotes student development.  

• Create Openings in Programs with Hands-On and Career-Centered Learning Opportunities: Oftentimes, students who are struggling academically do not see purpose in their learning nor do they see tangible outcomes for their efforts. Hands-on and career-centered learning programs can be powerful antidotes to these feelings. Even mid-year, consider finding ways for schools to offer students opportunities to join programs that allow for hands-on, project-based learning that aligns with potential career goals. Providing students with experiences of engagement and success after a semester of struggle may well be the difference that keeps a student making an effort in the second semester.

• Deploy Supports Beyond the Academic Sphere: There are many factors beyond academic understanding and proficiency that impact student learning and growth. In order to support student success and wellbeing, think broadly about deploying district resources to support student mental health, engagement, career planning, physical health, nutrition, and transportation needs. The district might push out communication campaigns specifically to students deemed at-risk, as well as the general population. Make it easy for students and families to access these resources and connect with school and district officials who can help with other challenges and needs.  

You Really Can Still Make a Difference This Year

The beginning of the second semester provides an opportunity to examine the reality–both successes and challenges–of the first semester, make adjustments to allocations of staff, time, and resources, and refocus the community on the importance of  collaborating to ensure that everyone experiences achievement and the joy of learning.  Students who struggle can lose faith in themselves mid-way to the journey, and a new calendar year is a wonderful time for educators to remind students that the second semester allows for a fresh start with time to take efforts to make the current school year a success.