The kids sometimes don’t relish it, but the Catch-Up Cafe is helping them cut the mustard.
Bad puns aside, the Cafe is one tool used at Eckstein to help all students succeed. The idea came from a conference attended last fall be several staff members. Another school at the conference reported great success with the idea.
The problem being addressed is the number of students, especially 8th graders and second semester 7th graders, doing poorly in class simply because of missing work. Students are getting worse grades than they otherwise would, not because they don’t understand the material but because they’re not completing work.
The Cafe’s goal is to improve student achievement by providing a place, during school hours, for students to do homework and other missing assignments. The Cafe also emphasizes to students that homework is important and that all students are expected to complete their work.
Students who are missing work are referred to the Cafe by their teachers. The Cafe takes place during lunch and students are required to attend and continue to attend until they are caught up.
When the Catch-Up Cafe was first implemented over a quarter of the student population, 318, were referred. The numbers quickly fell as soon as students realized they were giving up lunch time socializing because of missing homework. Now about 170 students a week are in the Cafe.
It appears that the Cafe is helping students shore up their grades. For example, students who were on the border between a B and a C are now getting a solid B.
Another benefit of the program is identifying students who were not turning in homework because they didn’t understand the material. These students are now referred to an after school homework program where they can get more intensive tutoring.
The Catch-Up Cafe has also caused teachers to start having conversations about the purposes and importance of homework. Over time and in conjunction with conversations about grading practices this will lead to more consistent grading policies across the school.
Eckstein is committed to seeing all of its students cut the mustard. The Catch-Up Cafe is one tool being used to help them succeed.
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