Explore
Program Roadmap
Assessing Readiness to Implement
It is crucial for organizations considering Check & Connect to assess their need for this structured mentoring program, their capacity to implement its four core components with selected students, and how well it fits with their school, district, or organization's current priorities and initiatives.
- Intensive 5% (Tier 3)
- Targeted 15% (Tier 2)
- Universal 80% (Tier 1)
Check & Connect® is a Tier 2 and/or Tier 3 structured mentoring intervention designed to support students who show warning signs of disengagement with school and are at risk of dropping out.
Mentor time & tasks:
- 1 hour per week per student
- Tasks:
- Checking data
- Connecting with student
- Engaging with the family
It takes approximately 1 hour per student, per week to implement the Core Components of the intervention. Check & Connect can be implemented using:
- Dedicated Mentors
- School Staff
- Community Volunteers
For additional details and support with weighing the pros and cons of each option, visit:
To ensure sustainability, it is crucial that Check & Connect aligns with existing priorities and initiatives within your school, district, or organization. Check & Connect is more likely to be integrated and sustained over time when viewed as complementary rather than an add-on. Examples of aligned priorities and initiatives include:
- Early warning systems
- Multi-tiered system of supports
- Positive behavioral interventions and supports
- Credit recovery programs
- Other academic and behavioral interventions
Readiness Tool
The Readiness Tool: A Guide for Exploring Check & Connect at Your Site is a self-paced online learning module that is designed for site leadership teams to learn more about Check & Connect and evaluate their site’s readiness to implement.
The Check & Connect Manual
The Check & Connect manual, Implementing with Fidelity by Sandra L. Christenson, Karen Stout, and Angie Pohl of the University of Minnesota, is an expanded guide to the theoretical foundations, components, elements, and steps for implementing Check & Connect.
Sample Implementation Tools
Online Mentoring Guide 
(PDF) - This guide offers strategies for fostering online relationships, planning conversations around school, and facilitating online interventions.
Student Engagement Instrument (SEI) - The Student Engagement Instrument (SEI™) is a brief 35 item self-reporting survey measuring cognitive and affective engagement. Data allows school professionals to gain insights into a student’s sense of control, intrinsic motivation, and future aspirations (cognitive engagement factors).
Mentor Practice Profile (PDF) - The purpose of this practice profile is to guide the C&C mentor through the implementation of the C&C Comprehensive Student Engagement Model. The critical components of the C&C mentor position include building relationships with students, systematic monitoring and analysis of student-level “check” data, and providing personalized “connect.”