Pivot Charter Schools’ mission is to transform students’ experience in education, which includes making sure each student has the tools and resources they need to be successful. Each year, staff evaluates the progression of every student and comes up with new and creative ways to assist them in filling any academic gaps. This past year, Pivot implemented a new course, called ‘Step Up’, to offer additional support for students to catch up to where they needed to be in terms of academic skills or credits.
Step Up was created by Pivot’s Intervention Specialist, Brenda Burke, and Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Coordinator, Kristen Poitras, to help students who struggle with independent learning so they can build their skills and achieve educational goals. Together they crafted a credit-earning program designed to empower students to utilize the support resources Pivot has to offer—including workshops, office hours, shared documents and more.
“We wanted to help the students realize that Pivot has ample resources that can benefit them in their school work,” said Burke. “The Step Up course is unique and exciting for staff as it offers us one-on-one time to check in with students, helps build accountability for their work and walks students through the resources. This sets the stage for them to continue their independent learning and directs them to what support is available and most helpful to them.”
“Through Step Up, we saw attendance, work completion, and i-Ready score improvements across participants, particularly in the areas of reading and writing,” said Poitras. “We’re excited to equip all of Pivot’s ECs with the Step Up curriculum and resources so that this programming can be offered all year long in the future”
At Pivot, every student has equal access to resources to facilitate their success in independent learning. Our ECs are committed to ensuring that each student takes advantage of the resources available to them and holding students accountable through regular check-ins. Our Step Up system is designed to support and encourage students to reach their academic goals. We strive to foster a culture of support and empowerment, where every student has the opportunity to thrive.
Visit our student resources page or contact your EC to learn more.