PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — With more than 2,000 students enrolled across Rockford High School and its Freshman Center, it can be easy for students to fall through the cracks. To ensure every student gets the support they need, Rockford Schools launched a Student Success Team.
WATCH STORY HERE
Assistant Principal Chelsea Cates started the program as a proactive measure to help students before they fall too far behind.
"We meet weekly on attendance, behavior, course performance, and we also look at our proficiency data on state assessments, so we can identify students who are needing support in one or more of those areas," Cates said.
The team works to stay aware of every student's progress, regardless of school size.
"Even though we have a big school at Rockford, we get to know our students. There isn't really anybody that's not on our radar who might not be performing well or reaching the success that they can," Cates said.
The program offers a range of support services, including flex time, tutoring, behavior and mental health support, and attendance assistance.
Rockford High School Counselor Kasey Souder said the goal extends beyond academics.
"We want our students to graduate from here with all of the academic knowledge that they need to be successful in their futures, but we also want them to graduate with the ability to advocate for themselves and the ability to know themselves a little bit," Souder said.
Students say the program is making a difference. Sophomore Amaya Villarreal, who balances athletics and academics, credits the team with improving her performance.
"It's definitely helped me be a better student and get better grades, because they're telling me what I need to work on. And it's just been very successful," Villarreal said.
For sophomore Jadyn Gillis, who is chronically ill and misses school frequently, the program provided access to flex time to catch up on coursework. She said the support came at the right moment.
"Sometimes you don't realize you're struggling until someone points it out and you realize, 'Wow, I really needed this,'" Gillis said.
Junior Shayla Watts echoed concerns about the challenges of attending a large school.
"I think some difficulties with being such a large school are that there are so many students here, and some of the needs that they may need, they might get overlooked," Watts said.
According to Cates, the Student Success Team has reduced course failures by 36% compared to the same period last year.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
