In response to the recent shifts in learning brought on by the pandemic, Communities In Schools® (CIS®) and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) partnered to develop a set of tools to be used to understand and measure student, family and educator engagement in learning. Without engagement, meaningful learning doesn’t happen!
Check out our latest brief to learn more about the development of the student engagement survey along with some promising findings from use amongst the CIS Network in the 2021-2022 school year.
Student Engagement Check-In Workbook and Worksheet
The Student Engagement Check-In Tool Workbook is designed to help adults working with students make a quick, effective determination of how engaged a student is in their learning.
This workbook walks you through how to prepare for a check-in conversation, how to have introductory conversations, and how to have deeper conversations in 4 domains of engagement. It also explains the necessary follow-up steps to take after each check-in. The Workbook is designed to be used with the Student Engagement Check-in MS Excel Worksheet. The worksheet includes directions, sample questions, and a space to capture student engagement ratings. The worksheet has been formatted with spaces to enter ratings and calculate the risk of disengagement.
Student Engagement Survey and Scoring Tool
The Student Engagement Survey contains a brief set of survey items for middle/high schools students and for elementary students (Grades K–5) or their parents, guardians, or other adult to report how they (or their children) are engaging in school in any learning environment (virtual, hybrid, or in person). These items allow schools to monitor the students’ global engagement levels and identify areas for additional supports to meet the students where they are in the moment. The survey is available in English and Spanish. Accompanying the survey is an MS Excel scoring tool that provides individual, aggregate and trend data to help educators identify who is at greatest risk of disengaging in learning and whether levels of engagement are improving over time.
Student Engagement Monitoring and Support Tools Manual
This manual includes step-by-step instructions for using the Student Engagement Check-in Tool and the Student Engagement Survey Results Tools.
Educator Engagement Survey
The Educator Engagement Survey is a brief set of survey items for teachers in any learning environment (virtual, hybrid, or in person) to report how they are engaging while teaching. The Educator Engagement Survey is intended to understand engagement levels in aggregate (i.e., for a group of educators), rather than engagement of an individual teacher. The items allow schools to understand educators’ global engagement levels and identify areas for additional supports to meet the teachers where they are in the moment.
Family Engagement Survey
The Family Engagement Survey is a brief set of survey items for families with children in any learning environment (virtual, hybrid, or in person) to report what, if any, challenges they face in supporting their children’s learning. These items allow schools to understand how learning is taking place at home and identify areas for additional supports to meet families where they are in the moment. The survey is available in English and Spanish.
Reconnecting Students to Education Pathways – Practice Brief
During the 2021–2022 school year, Communities In Schools® (CIS®) introduced the Reengagement Coordinator Initiative, with the goal of reengaging high school students (particularly eleventh and twelfth grade students) who did not reenroll in school or were chronically absent, due to the pandemic. Through this initiative, implemented by 26 CIS affiliated organizations, over 1,100 students received targeted services from a Reengagement Coordinator to support them on a pathway to success.
This brief summarizes the main findings and shares takeaways for practitioners in schools and other organizations who are looking to work with disengaged students or create a dedicated position to reengage students.
