Keeping Student Support Meetings Positive and Focused on Solutions

When students are struggling, our first impulse as educators is to help them. And when we notice patterns of struggle across spaces for particular students, it is often helpful to come together as a group to discuss our concerns. These meetings can be hugely beneficial in helping students succeed, as they allow teachers and administrators to identify when a student is struggling, discuss possible causes, and create a plan.

However, without clear conversation agreements and procedures, these meetings can unintentionally shift away from this focus on intervening to support students and instead become a place where teachers share stories and frustrations about students, often at the cost of having enough time to determine concrete next steps. While sharing experiences can certainly feel validating for teachers—I’m not the only one experiencing these challenges with this student—the focus of these meetings should be on supporting students, first and foremost.

CREATING COMPASSIONATE SPACES TO DISCUSS STUDENT CONCERNS

We want student concern meetings to be spaces that are compassionate and, above all else, student-centered. In order to achieve this, I have found the following conversation agreements and procedures to be especially helpful:

• First, describe the concerning behavior. Be as factual and specific as possible.
• Second, describe the impact of this behavior—on the student, on other students, on you, on the classroom culture. Again, be as factual and specific as possible.
• Third, discuss potential next steps to intervene with the struggling student and support them in being successful.
• Finally, designate a person to take point on this intervention and report back to the group as necessary.

You’ll notice that these agreements encourage teachers to provide factual information, which is a critical part of creating student-centered meetings. For educators, it can be easy to make assumptions about why a student is struggling: They’re unmotivated, they lack time management skills, they don’t prioritize the class, etc. While some of these judgments may be true in certain instances, they ultimately don’t help us support the student, and in some cases, they can hide the underlying issue behind why a student is struggling.

SHIFTING HOW WE FRAME OUR CONCERNS

Say a student struggles to turn in their class assignments. During a meeting, teachers may say it is because the student is simply unmotivated. However, I’ve often seen that the issue has less to do with motivation and more to do with understanding. If we jump to the conclusion that the student is unmotivated, we will likely feel frustrated with them and may miss what’s actually at the root of the issue, causing us to try to solve the wrong problem.

But if we slow down and focus on describing the problem and its impact, we may be able to uncover that the student doesn’t understand the directions given for assignments and would benefit from having the teacher offer instructions in a variety of ways, including verbally, visually, and in writing.

Ultimately, by focusing on the behavior and its impacts, we are better able to set aside our judgments, look at the problem more neutrally, and determine appropriate next steps to support the student.

SPEAKING THOUGHTFULLY ABOUT A STUDENT

One way I like to think about this is to speak as if the student’s family were in the room—I wouldn’t complain about a student, but I wouldn’t sugarcoat it either. This helps me keep the conversation professional, respectful, and focused on addressing the issue in a productive way.

I also like to find ways to be thoughtful about the student’s entire learning journey, not just the reason we are meeting today. This can look like finding a small moment to celebrate growth from this student, especially when there have been challenges in the past.

DETERMINING NEXT STEPS TO SUPPORT A STUDENT

During a meeting, educators can often get carried away with the discussion and ultimately walk away without a concrete plan. That’s why it is so important to designate a point person who will be responsible for implementing the plan of action and following up with the team about how things are going.

Often, this invention starts with the point person having a one-on-one conversation with the student. Here’s another reason why focusing the conversation on the facts is so important—now the point person knows what to say. The point person doesn’t have to sanitize the conversation or invent information; they can simply share the factual observations about the student’s behavior and use that as a jumping-off point for discussion.

Going back to the example above, instead of needing to find a more student-friendly way of saying, “I’m concerned that you are unmotivated,” the point person can instead share teachers’ observations by saying, “Your teachers and I have noticed that you have several missing assignments for your classes, which has resulted in your grades dropping. Can you tell me about what’s going on that might be getting in the way of you turning in your assignments? I want to support you in completing all your work for your classes so that you can be successful.”

Leading with curiosity and factual observations, as well as a reassurance that you want to support the student, will invite them to open up about what might be at the heart of their challenges.