Supporting Students at Scale: A Replicable Student Success Model
Coming out of the pandemic, through California Volunteers and the Office of the Governor, the State of California decided to invest deeply in their education portfolio by supporting the creation of a student support model that can work in all states. The approach: student success coaches (SSCs) that support kids in all facets of their education and help school districts address their major pain points (learning loss, mental health, attendance, chronic absenteeism and teacher retention and recruitment) in a coherent and cost-effective way. The strategy: a network of organizations and practitioners that care deeply about young people and harness the best of each other’s programs.
The California Student Success Coach Learning Network represents eight committed organizations — ranging from mentoring programs for young men of color to supporting LGBTQ+ youth in the central valley — that together are learning the intricacies of supporting students through a student success coach model.
What is a student success coach?
SSCs are AmeriCorps members recruited, trained and supported to serve in public schools as trusted tutors, mentors and role models. As 18-to-25-year-olds, SSCs are uniquely positioned to build positive near-peer “developmental” relationships with students.
Partnering with classroom teachers, SSCs provide one-on-one tutoring, small group instruction, skill building, afterschool programs and school-wide events designed to advance academic achievement and social-emotional learning.
How does the California Student Success Coach Network operate?
The eight participating organizations come together frequently, via online forums and in-person convenings, for trainings and to share what they are learning about the SSC model in different settings, including schools and extended learning spaces.
With support from City Year Headquarters, City Year Los Angeles, City Year Sacramento and City Year San José, the California Student Success Coach Learning Network includes: BAYAC AmeriCorps San Francisco Bay Area; PASS AmeriCorps San Diego; Building Community, Changing Lives Porterville; Elev8 Alameda County; Equality California Mentorship Corps Central Valley and the Inland Empire; Improve Your Tomorrow California State; and Healthy Choices AmeriCorps San Francisco.
Student success coaching was incubated at City Year over many years of serving in our nation’s most under-resourced schools and communities. The Student Success Coach Learning Network is a first-of-its-kind program led by City Year and supported by California Volunteers, the state’s service commission that oversees AmeriCorps programs. The SSC model is now being replicated in California beyond City Year’s direct service footprint in Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Jose. This enables thousands of additional students to receive coaching in communities that don’t have a City Year school partnership.
Dr. Pedro Noguera, dean of the USC Rossier School of Education and a leading authority on urban education policy and improvement efforts, has praised the State of California for investing in the network.
“I think student success coaches go far in helping schools address so many needs that kids bring,” Dr. Noguera said. “Having student success coaches in classrooms and working with schools brings an extra set of hands and an extra person who can build a trusting relationship with a student and keep them connected to school and to their education.”
The network operates in 200 schools across 25 cities throughout California. Over 1000 AmeriCorps members serving over 72,000 students in these areas are already yielding impressive results.
Attendance and academic gains *
Programs in the California Student Success Coach Learning Network play a crucial role in combating chronic absenteeism. At a time when many school districts in California and across the country are struggling to address attendance issues, data by City Year Los Angeles shows that up to 50% of students who work with SSCs improve attendance by 90% or higher. This translates to more hours of instruction and more days spent under the care and supervision of trusted educators. Interviews with school principals across programs in the SSC Learning Network reveal a strong correlation between higher student attendance and the presence of SSCs.
Emphasizing this point, Dr. Gustavo Ortiz-Escalante, Principal at Ascot Avenue Elementary, shared: “Our school attendance has improved since partnering with City Year. There is a clear correlation between the presence of student success coaches and improvements in student attendance. Schools without these coaches struggle with chronic absenteeism. Fortunately, we benefit from having student success coaches who help get our children back to school and support their learning.” Dr. Ortiz-Escalante’s words are a testament to the importance of the impact of Student Success Coaches in supporting schools, like Ascot Avenue Elementary, to combat chronic absenteeism.
Programs in the SSC Learning Network also play a role in fostering academic growth among the students they serve. For example, Elev8 highlights that up to 74% of students served by student success coaches progress up to one grade level in literacy and/or math based on standardized test scores. Building Community Changing Lives illustrates how 51% of its students meet the goal of increasing one proficiency level in English.
For high school students, improving attendance, test scores, and grades is crucial. Working with SSCs can significantly boost their academic outcomes, enhancing their chances of high school graduation and college readiness. Improve Your Tomorrow reports that students who work with these coaches achieve greater high school graduation rates, college eligibility, and college-going rates. Notably, 100% of their students graduate from high school, with 58% meeting A-G eligibility requirements, which are essential for college admission. As a result, 70% of Improve Your Tomorrow’s high school graduates transition to college.
Just as important, our data indicates that these positive outcomes can be achieved in many more schools across the country. Student success coaching has proved to be an effective, replicable model and, we believe, an essential part of a healthy school ecosystem and pandemic recovery strategies.
Explore research by the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University that finds student success coaches help students academically, socially, emotionally, and in terms of attendance.
Expanding student success coaching
At a time when so many students are dealing with learning loss and mental health issues, student success coaches help to expand educational equity by providing critical capacity to educators in systemically under-resourced schools and supporting students who are often furthest from opportunity. This additional support allows for more personalized learning and contributes to more welcoming, engaging, joyful and equitable learning environments for all members of the school community.
Just as important, SSCs caring and consistent presence in the daily lives of students helps to create a sense of mutual trust that empowers students to explore their interests, build on their strengths and hone skills they need to thrive in school, college and career. California and other states can support their school districts by expanding access to this proven model and investing in organizations with ties to their local communities.
The SSC Learning Network has been a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow with other AmeriCorps practitioners. Bringing similar programs together to address educational needs in California should be continued and replicated in the future. There is power in collaboration. It strengthens our partnerships with schools and our service to students. Collaboration also allows us to improve our programming and thrive as a community, ensuring that both those providing and receiving the service gain the most from this experience.
We’re proud to partner with California, a state that has supported innovative approaches to how learning happens, including the student success coach network. Other states are noticing.
*Data based on self-reporting impact presentations at the November 2023 California Student Success Coach Learning Network Residency in Oakland, CA.
