School-connectedness is a leading protective factor—and the inspiration for our name: School-Connect.
Decades of research confirm that students who feel adults and peers care about them at school are more likely to be academically engaged, have higher attendance rates, better grades, and significantly less risk behavior (including involvement in drugs, alcohol, and violence) (Resnick et al, 1997; CDC, 2009). School-Connect lessons purposefully practice skill development in all protective factors to counterbalance prevalent risk factors and reinforce a supportive school climate. CLICK for S-C 4.0 Alignment with Risk & Protective Factors.
Adolescence is a challenging time
Teens go through dramatic changes in physical appearance, cognitive abilities, and social-emotional development. As young people mature, they move from childhood's relative simplicity and security to the complexity and uncertainties of adulthood. Most adolescents experience some difficulty or missteps during this transition. While brain development goes through tremendous growth during adolescence, it can sometimes lag behind physical growth through a maturational mismatch and be at odds with healthy or responsible decision-making. As a result, adolescents are at greater risk than children for depression, anxiety, substance abuse, violence, self-harm, and academic failure (Tan et al., 2018; Jensen & Nutt, 2015; Blakemore & Mills, 2014).
The social-emotional challenges inherent in adolescence have led to growing feelings of loneliness in recent years and been exacerbated by the grief, isolation, and disruption in schooling wrought by the COVID pandemic (Tenge, et al., 2021; Sharma, et al., 2021). An annual national mental health survey in 2021 found that 10.6% of youth cope with major depression, with the highest rate (14.5%) among youth who identified as more than one race. Sixty percent of youth with major depression receive no mental health treatment (Reinert, et al., 2022).
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Ninth grade is a critical year for students.
In transitioning from elementary school to middle school and then high school, adolescents encounter increasingly larger student bodies, a more impersonal environments, increased academic rigor, higher expectations, and fewer emotional supports. Academic grades and discipline records directly impact students' post-high school options beginning in ninth grade. Many first-year students are ill-prepared for these challenges and fail to earn the credits necessary for promotion to the next grade level. The result can lead to larger ninth-grade classes, most notably in large urban schools (Easton, Johnson & Sartain, 2017; McCallumore & Sparapani, 2010).
Nationally, nearly 15% of youth do not graduate high school in four years (U.S. Department of Education, 2019). To navigate this crucial transition, students need guidance and practice in time management, goal-setting, emotion de-escalation, and effective study strategies.
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Many young people lack the skills needed to succeed in college or the workplace.
Students who survive the critical ninth-grade juncture and go on to graduate from high school (88% nationally) continue to face additional hurdles (U.S. Department of Education, 2019). Two-thirds of these graduates will enter college but approximately 20% will be required to take remedial courses and many of those students will fail to graduate (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). In 2019, the overall six-year graduation rate for first-time, full-time undergraduate students was 63% (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019). Yet studies suggest that 50% or more of all new jobs require postsecondary education (Balfanz et al., 2014).
Young people need more than diplomas to land and keep a job. A leading online search site linking job seekers with employment opportunities cited the top 11 skills U.S. employers look for in candidates—no matter what the job (Indeed, 2021). Ten of these skills match the social and emotional competencies that are School-Connect's focus. And in a meta-analysis of 28 studies, employers worldwide cited the need for social-emotional and higher-order cognitive skills as greater than basic cognitive and technical skills (Cunningham & Villasenor, 2014).
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Skills for success require context-specific modeling and practice.
No one ever questions having a formal curriculum in algebra or geometry. We all know that developing and applying mathematical concepts requires instruction, practice, and a supportive environment. Developing interpersonal skills (e.g., perspective-taking and problem-solving) and intrapersonal skills (e.g., emotional management and goal-setting) also require attention and rigor.
While many students learn these skills at home, it is also essential to practice and apply them in their school environment, which can also be considered a 'work' environment. With so much riding on their school performance, it only makes sense for them to apply these skills to their academic work and their interactions with peers and teachers.
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