Check In Check Out Intervention - Check in with Mrs G

The check in check out intervention has been the backbone of my teaching career. I think every classroom would benefit from a check in system! The goal is to build relationships with students that you can leverage to help students develop an interest in education. Building these relationships is my teaching super power and my favorite thing about teaching.

A surprising benefit of this check in check out intervention has been the structure and format it has provided to help my students form relationships with other adults in the building. Students who feel supported by the whole school community thrive.

The Original Check In Intervention

I began with a standard check in check out system. I saw my students two times a day. Originally, I only saw my students with behavior concerns for check in. Then, during one particularly high stress testing week I opened my check in to any student on my caseload who thought they would benefit from it and never looked back. In my experience the check in is a positive for everyone.

Involving Other Teachers

I transitioned some of my students who were doing well in social skills group to a Friday check in with another teacher. Not their own, but a teacher from a different grade level. The results were incredible!

My students reported an increased sense of community, belonging, acceptance. They reflected this in their good attitudes and enthusiasm. Students wanted to leave my room to check in with their special person. In some cases, the students were paired with teachers who they would likely have as their classroom teacher in the future. As a result, students developed a positive relationship with the teacher before entering their classroom.

Teachers taking more of a personal interest in a student that was not in their classroom created a noticeable sense of community throughout the building.

The students were not dependent on me. Instead, they had an entire community, a safety net, that would not let them go unnoticed. Students could not fly under the radar because I was absent or preoccupied with another student. Seems like including more teachers in the check in intervention shifted the message to the student from “I am on your side” to “we are a team”.