Check & Connect: A Comprehensive Student Engagement Intervention

Check & Connect is a comprehensive intervention designed to enhance student engagement at school and with learning for marginalized, disengaged students in grades K-12, through relationship building, problem solving and capacity building, and persistence. A goal of Check & Connect is to foster school completion with academic and social competence.

Of the dropout prevention interventions reviewed by the U.S. Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse, Check & Connect is the only program found to have strong evidence of positive effects on staying in school.

Check & Connect is implemented by a trained mentor whose primary goal is to keep education a salient issue for disengaged students and their teachers and family members. The mentor works with a caseload of students and families over time and follows their caseload from program to program and school to school.

The Check & Connect trained mentor continuously:

Checks on students, assessing their engagement with school and learning through close monitoring of their attendance, behavior, and grades; and
Connects with students, offering individualized intervention in partnership with school personnel, families, and community service providers.

Twenty years of ongoing research documents that Check & Connect interventions yield the following outcomes (see Check & Connect Research Findings):

Arrow pointing upwards.

INCREASED
Attendance
Persistence in school
Accrual of credits
School completion rates

Arrow pointing downwards.

DECREASED
Truancy
Tardies
Behavioral referrals
Dropout rates

Training & Consultation Options

We offer customized, on-site training and consultation, as well as open enrollment trainings in select locations across the United States. Select the training option that best suits your needs:

We want to get started with C&C

2-day training for those preparing to implement C&C

We want training for C&C mentors

2-day training for new and existing C&C mentors

We want a C&C refresher course

1-day workshop for C&C coordinators and mentors

If you are interested in a particular training or want more information, please fill out our online inquiry form or contact us to speak with a staff member.

See About Check & Connect for information on Using Check & Connect with Existing Initiatives, Frequently Asked Questions, Participant Interviews and Testimonials, and more.