WISE Up!
AOCC 2012
Presenters:
Eileen McGarvey,
School Counselor Ridgeview Jr. High
Kris Owen,
School Counselor Ridgeview Jr. High
Sherry Orlando,
Executive Director Fairfield County United Way
Not Present
Rick Brenner
School Psychologist Ridgeview Jr. High
WISE
Winning Interventions for
Student Excellence
History
 In 2005 we were informed that the FACFC
wanted to have more involvement in schools
AND in our area of the county.*
 We piloted a before school program, The
Breakfast Club, in the Spring of 2006 with
money from the Family, Adult and Children First
Council. **
 We continued the program in 2007-2008, but
had difficulty getting kids to come at 6:30 a.m.
History Continued
In the spring of 2008-2009 we piloted a
new and improved program during the
school day….
WISE
 Starting in the 2009-2010 School
Year… WISE met during the school
day for three days per week from
October through late May.*
 Since fall of 2010, WISE has been
a part of the school day and class
schedule for the 60-80 students it
serves. **
Purpose
The WISE Program was designed to meet
one of the biggest academic needs of
Junior High students…
It also focuses on:
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study skills
work completion
improving grades
building assets
Increasing self esteem
Philosophy
 The junior high school years are a
crucial developmental period in a
student's education. Success is often
determined by grades, test scores, and
work completion.
 It is our hypothesis that designing and
implementing a program to improve a
junior high student's organizational and
study skills would ultimately lead to
better grades, higher self-esteem, and a
more successful transition to high
school.
Data…Data…Data
According to a needs assessment
conducted each year,
approximately:
 30% of the students felt they needed
some extra help with time management
 Over 45% felt they needed help to
improve their grades
 26% felt they needed help with
organization.
 Approximately 8 out of every 10 students that
were referred to Ridgeview Junior High
School's Intervention Assistance Team (IAT)
from 2006 to 2008 had as their primary referral
concerns:
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poor organizational skills
missing work
numerous assignments not turned in
not coming to classes with necessary materials
poor test scores.
 These difficulties were also the primary
reason(s) these students were either failing or
near-failing some or all of their classes.
Typical Classroom Accommodations like:
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extended time
preferential seating,
using an assignment notebook,
frequent parental involvement, and
frequent parent-teacher communication
had NOT significantly improved these students'
overall grades or self-esteem.
The Program
In order to improve grades and self-esteem
for at-risk (non-special education) kids
who are disorganized and unmotivated,
you need a program that offers the
following:
1. Direct Intervention
2. Implemented in a small-group setting
3. With daily monitoring and supervision
4. Increased communication between home
and school
5. Daily incentives/opportunities to earn
rewards
The Results
This chart is from the 2010-11 school year. We have
always had between a 75% and 80% success rate.
Unintended Outcomes
 WISE has become a great intervention
for struggling students to determine
whether testing for Special Education
services is necessary.
 WISE has reduced the number of
Special Education referrals.
 We are here presenting! We had no
idea how successful this program would
be. We are now also trying to start the
same program at the other Jr. High in
our district.
Does it Stick?*
The longitudinal data indicates that even
months (to over a year) after exiting the
program, previous WISE students current
mean grade averages are still higher than
their pre-WISE mean grade averages and in
a few cases are even higher than their post
WISE mean averages.
A Work In Progress…
Changes we propose for the future
 We are moving to a Google Docs survey for
perception data (pre and post) and including
more questions related to self esteem and
personal assets.*
 Change the focus of the questions to a more
positive approach.
 Look at graduation rates for those who
participated in the program.
 Formulate a school policy for the acceptance
of work through this program.
2012 United Way Campaign
Video
Show Me
The $$$
Cost
 WISE is a very cost effective program. We
employ a full-time teacher from late Sept.- June
who directly serves and monitors as many as 80
at-risk students per year. We also buy supplies
to help the students organize as well as some
small incentives, all for…
Under $20,000
United Way
Funding
and
Building a Network
Other options…
 This program can easily be done within a
school district if the district will support the
hiring of a teacher or aide.
 With the data we have provided, you should
have enough information to make such a
proposal. However, if you need more, please
feel free to contact us.
Questions?
Contact Information
 Eileen McGarvey- (614)548-1716
eileen_mcgarvey@plsd.us
 Kris Owen - (614)548-1717
kris_owen@plsd.us
 Sherry Orlando - (740)653-0643
sorlando@uwayfairfieldco.org