FARMINGTON – For five years, Mount Blue High School in Farmington has used the BARR (Building Asset Risk Reduction) model to ease the transition to high school for ninth-graders. As a result, attendance increased, failure rates decreased, and bonds between educators, students, and educators were strengthened.
“Freshman students are a group of students who have always struggled,” said ninth-grade earth science teacher Kelly Schlosser, “and I think BARR will provide an additional level of support.” Especially when you move from middle school to high school, it's a very vulnerable year and a vulnerable time. ”
Mount Blue's team of 9th grade educators know their students intimately. They greet each other by name in the hall, know who their best friends are and their dreams for the future. BARR helps foster these strong relationships.
Mount Blue High School is one of more than 70 schools in Maine implementing BARR. Last summer, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) offered every school in the state the opportunity to become a BARR school and join schools like Mount Blue who are experiencing incredible success through BARR.
BARR is a model that combines relationship building (staff-to-staff, staff-to-student, student-to-student) and real-time data to enable schools to enhance academic performance and the well-being of all students. By building strong relationships with students and other educators, teachers can work together to support the whole student.
Educator teams meet in block meetings to discuss each student individually, highlighting the student's strengths and connection to school, and sharing personal knowledge and observations (e.g., student mental health, home life, goals). ) or benchmark data (e.g., grades, attendance, behavior, etc.).
Schlosser explains how block meetings work at Mt.
“We have big blocks on the weekends, where we talk about students as a big team with administrators, school counselors, and social workers. Then we have small block meetings at the beginning of the week, where we, as a teacher team, talk about students and small We discuss interventions,” she said.
Students identified by educators as at-risk are discussed in Community Connect meetings that include more members of the school community, including school resource officers and administrators. At Mount Blue, Community Connect includes Peterson, 9th grade assistant principal Greg Henderson, school social workers Angelica Levy and Jack Turner, school nurse Vicki Gerstenberger, special education facilities coordinator Mike Hanson and school resource officer. We hold meetings every week. matt bran. During our meetings, the Community Connect team will develop strategies to intervene and limit inappropriate behavior before it leads to suspension.
McKillie, a second-grader, feels that the support she received through BARR in ninth grade helped her develop a better relationship with her second-grade teacher.
“Teachers talk and have meetings. They let each other know how they are doing as students, so they don't have to make a fresh start,” she said. “If you do that, your bond will only grow stronger.”
These positive relationships with educators are built during I-time. Like Blocks and Community Connect Meetings, I-Times may vary by school. At Mount Blue, each 9th grade teacher has 20 new students with her and meets with her multiple I-Times. I-Times includes everything from relationship-building activities to life skills development. Most importantly, these I-Times allow students to meet and bond with their peers and teachers, and allow students to bond with each other on a deeper level.
“Not only did your teachers get to know you, you got to know them, and you bonded as a class and as a community,” McKillie said.
Prior to investing in BARR, Mount Blue consistently experienced high suspension rates and low attendance rates.
“The year before BARR, suspension was going through the roof and there was a lot going on,” Mount Blue principal Joel Smith recalls. “It was fascinating to hear that BARR was impacting academics, attendance, and behavior…especially the behavior part. Since then, I've seen a difference.”
Since launching BARR, Mount Blue's suspension rate has decreased, attendance has increased, and the delinquency rate was less than 5% for the first semester of the 2023-2024 school year.
“Our failure rate has decreased every year since implementing BARR,” says Smith.
Outside of the data and inside the classroom, educators are experiencing these positive trends firsthand, and they persist beyond the first grade. Second grade English teacher Meadow Sheldon has been teaching at Mount Blue since before BARR was introduced, and she sees a big difference in her second grade students post-BARR.
“They work hard and are able to advocate for themselves,” Sheldon said. “They understand that: [their grades] He is now more stubborn and asks for help than previous students. ”
Plus, students feel better about being in school. Quinn, a freshman, wasn't attracted to school until this year. Now, he is an honor student who is close to his teachers.
“I feel like the school actually treats me as a person and not as a child,” he said.
Peterson is extremely proud of his ninth grade team’s work with BARR.
“I really like the way we care about all of our ninth graders. We notice if their grades are going down or if there’s something wrong with them if they’re absent,” he said. Ta.
Smith and Peterson hope that one day the BARR model will be expanded to the entire high school.
“We are looking at opportunities to implement the BARR model wherever possible,” Smith said.
Interested in becoming a BARR School? Join us for the next BARR webinar: Thursday, March 14, 2024, 3:00pm Click here to register.
Applications are now being accepted from all public schools willing and qualified to become a BARR school. Click here to apply.Application deadline is March 18, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.
The Maine Department of Energy will cover all costs of implementing the program for schools new to BARR in the 2024-2025 school year. (Note: If he is already enrolled at a BARR school and has an existing contract, there is no need to reapply as the costs will be covered for the 2024-2025 academic year as well.)
The Maine Department of Energy created competitive BARR grants to help schools invest in this model using American Rescue Plan funding.