A Chandler elementary school’s new program is seeing positive changes amongst its students with high absences or high behavioral referrals.
Every school day, twice a day, 6th grader Brisa is one of 29 students checking in with their educator mentor at Sanborn Elementary, a Title I school. The group, called the “Sun Squad,” was created by their principal, Adam McCoy, just last school year.
What started out with five students that McCoy mentored, turned into 29 this school year and a total of nine mentors.
“What we found is that when they’re given a little bit of extra time and have some extra motivation, that both behavior and attendance increased,” McCoy told ABC15.
Students are chosen to be part of the Sun Squad in one of two ways: either having more than 40 absences in a school year or six or more behavioral referrals.
McCoy said they found about 70-80 students who met that criteria, out of roughly 500 students. However, in wanting the program to be small and successful in the start, he said they settled on 29 students, taking the top 12 % of those numbers.
The way the program works, these mentors are paired with several students.
Those students would check in with their mentor first thing in the morning and then before they leave school for the day. Throughout the day, they have a booklet that their teachers or other educators fill out, talking about how their behavior was in that hour. In some instances, McCoy or other mentors will have lunch with their students.
“Our focus is you can have a bad hour. It’s how you respond to that hour that you can still have a productive day,” McCoy said.
Sixth grader Jaiden told ABC15 his mentor gives him different challenges, and then also gives them treats, like snacks and candy, if he does well.
“Like to have a better day than yesterday because sometimes I have a rough day, and the next day, I’ll be having a better one,” he said of the challenges his mentor gives him.
McCoy said it’s also important to get families involved with their students and the school, trying to find and overcome any barriers that would prevent them from coming to school.
Brisa told ABC15 she had 40 absences total last school year.
“Last year... I was always just tired. I would sleep late, playing games on my phone all day. I would just sleep in,” she said.
This year, so far? She’s had zero absences. Her goal is to have perfect attendance this year.
“Everyone is trying to improve themselves in a better way. Now, we’re all trying to get in a group and get better,” she said of other students in the Sun Squad.
Kim Reed, the behavior specialist at Sanborn Elementary, said the results are “incredible.”
The school says students in the Sun Squad are split up. Of the 29 students, 12 are there from the attendance qualifier, while the other 17 are there for behavior improvement.
From last year to this year, the students in Sun Squad saw a 55% decrease in absences. It was a 7% decrease for behavioral issues.
“We usually don't see numbers like that even for a longer amount of time. But even in this short amount of time, it’s a huge improvement,” she said.
McCoy said behaviors around school are also changing, not just from Sun Squad students.
“We have students who aren’t in the program, coming to myself, coming to their teachers, saying, ‘Hey, Mr. McCoy, I've been here for 15 straight days.’ ‘I’m picking up trash around the campus.’ They’re intrinsically doing this because they also want to be seen and validated,” McCoy said, adding that they do reward the students for small moments as well, such as lunch outside or treats.
While they know they still have more work to do, he plans to expand it next school year, hoping to add even more educators as mentors to help more students.
“It’s amazing to see student growth and to see students intrinsically motivated and empowered to make a change,” McCoy continued. “We can set the platform, we can set the table, but ultimately there needs to be buy-in and a commitment to change, and I think that’s the biggest thing.”
