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Red Lake Secondary Complex principal outlines Check & Connect mentoring program for grades 6–12
Summary
Dr. Delaina Smith told the board the Check & Connect mentoring program uses trained staff mentors, weekly check‑ins, monthly family outreach and data tracking to support students; the district currently has 12 mentors and serves 28 students in the program, and staff are seeking additional funding to expand.
Dr. Delaina Smith, identified at the meeting as the Red Lake Secondary Complex principal, presented the district’s Check & Connect program on March 25, describing its structure, selection criteria and current caseload.
"It’s a structured mentoring intervention... we’re hoping to promote student success and engagement at school and we work on building skills by learning through relationship building and systematic use of data," Dr. Smith told the board. She said mentors meet students at least weekly (a minimum of 10 minutes, often 30 minutes) and reach out to families at least monthly.
Dr. Smith said the district trained five new mentors this year and currently has 12 mentors (seven for middle school and five for high school) serving 12 middle school students and 16 high school students. Selection criteria referenced include students with a stable mental‑health status (70% or higher by the district/U of M/MDE criteria), realistic credit progress toward graduation, and behavior referrals that are average or below.
Because a prior app used to track data was retired when grant funding ended, the district’s data specialist, Jody Waldo, created a simple OneNote/form solution and the district is working with MDE to check fidelity and improve data tracking. Dr. Smith said the team meets every other Wednesday and that mentors document contacts and interventions so the district can monitor outcomes.
Dr. Smith said staff are exploring additional funding sources (for example, Access) to expand eligibility beyond students who meet the current tier‑two and tier‑three criteria. She noted the program has research support and that districts customize implementation to local needs.
Board members asked whether family activities are open broadly; Dr. Smith said mentors contact families of students enrolled in the program but that other parent‑oriented events tied to other grants are open to broader participation. The presentation emphasized relationship building, persistence and problem solving as keys to supporting student engagement.
The board received the presentation; no formal action on the program was taken during the meeting.
