A plan is developed between the student and the counselor which encompasses changes in personal and academic habits, increased communication with parents, tutoring arrangements, meetings with individual teachers, and occasional recommendations for off-site professional learning assessments. Students then meet with the academic monitoring counselor a minimum of once per quarter while in the program. Motivation, encouragement, and academic monitoring are central to the relationship between counselor and student. The report elicits information in the areas of recent test and quiz scores, participation in class, missed assignments, general comments, and whether or not the student has attempted to contact the teacher for help. The progress report is then taken home for a parent signature and returned by a specified date.
Parents play an integral role in assisting daughters who are in the monitoring program.
They are included in the progress report system, and also receive written communications and updates each month regarding the academic progress of their daughters. It is a clear expectation, however, that while students are offered services and sources of support, the responsibility rests with them for taking advantages of those services. Students are removed from the monitoring program when their grades are solidly above a 2.5 average and they are comfortable with those grades. Even while meeting these criteria, many students elect to remain in the program, having found it helpful in keeping them focused and motivated. The group counselor identifies topics of interest to students and develops group counseling opportunities and workshops around those topics.