So what is the Check-In/Check-Out Intervention?
CICO is not synonymous with Check & Connect. Check & Connect is a dropout prevention intervention that uses close monitoring of school performance, mentoring, case management, and other supports to positively impact student attendance, persistence in school, accrual of credits, and school completion rates while decreasing truancy, tardies, behavioral referrals, and dropout rates.
Why would I use Check-In/Check-Out?
- CICO is an efficient and cost-effective way to improve specific behavioral outcomes for students.
- Classroom teachers can typically implement the intervention in 5-10 minutes per day.
- CICO can accommodate 10-15 students per intervention coordinator, although it may be helpful to start with fewer students.
- CICO includes a built-in system for monitoring progress in the program, evaluating fidelity of implementation, and transitioning students to a self-managed support plan.
- CICO provides a built-in system for home-school communication and collaboration.
- Improves student accountability
- Improves student behavior and academics when other interventions have not worked
- Provides feedback and adult support on a daily basis
- Improves home-school communication and collaboration
- Teaches students how to self-monitor behavior
- Helps students internalize their success
- Can lead to sustainable positive behavior changes
Which students would benefit?
How do I prepare to use the Check-In/Check-Out intervention?
___Teachers and support staff identify and define 3-4 behavioral expectations specific to the student; these may be based on the student’s universal behavior screener data, ODR’s, or other behavior data including teacher reports. It may be helpful to solicit older students’ input about their behavior goals.
___The CICO intervention coordinator who will be working with the student creates a Daily Progress Report that list the 3-4 behaviors being targeted. To create your own customized Daily Report Card, consider using this free & handy tool: http://www.interventioncentral.org/teacher-resources/behavior-rating-scales-report-card-maker
___The CICO intervention coordinator meets with the student to decide on a daily reward that the student will earn for successfully demonstrating the desired behavior. (Look at frequency baseline data you have on the current behavior in order to set a minimum rating on the Daily Progress Report that the student must achieve to earn the reward).
___Meet with the student to explain the intervention, review behavioral expectations, sign a contract about the CICO plan (if you’re using one), preview the Daily Progress Report and explain how many points need to be earned to receive the reward.
___The CICO intervention coordinator makes sure all teachers working with this student understand that they will be part of the CICO intervention, and as such, need to provide regular feedback at the end of each activity or class.
How do I involve parents/ guardians?
___First, parents are given a letter introducing them to the CICO intervention; its purpose and the goals, and asking for their permission to involve their child in the intervention (see sample parent letter).
___If parents/ guardians consent to the intervention for their child, the intervention coordinator explains that their child will be bringing home the Daily Progress Report every day and asks them to review it with their child, sign it, and have their child return it to school the following day. The CICO adult who is working with the student may find it beneficial to coach parents on how to review the point sheet with their child, in order to keep that conversation positive and encouraging.
How do I know if I’m using the best practice version of Check-In/Check-Out as a CICO Intervention Coordinator?
___I meet with the student before classes start.___I provide praise when the student returns the previous days CICO Home Report.
___I give the student their Daily Progress Report (see attached).
___I talk with the student briefly about the goals they are working on.
___I give encouragement, and use pre-correction as needed.
2. Monitoring/Evaluation:
The student takes their Daily Progress Report or Point Sheet to all of their classes. The student’s teacher observes their behaviors and uses the Daily Progress Report to rate the student’s performance, then hands the completed progress monitoring report to the student as they head out for their scheduled meeting with the CICO Intervention Coordinator.
3. Check-Out:
___I meet with the student at the end of the day.
___I use the check-out time to ask the student how they did; what they think they did well on, and what they need to continue working on.
___I review the Daily Progress Report.
___If the student earns the reward, I provide it. If the student did not earn it. I encourage the student to try again tomorrow, and remind them that tomorrow is a new day.
___I remind the student to take the Daily Progress Report home, get it signed, and bring it back the following day.
___ I do not attach any disciplinary action to this intervention; I am focused solely on pre-teaching and encouragement.
When do we know the intervention has been successful?
___This data is reviewed by the building’s data analysis team or school-based support team. Results are used to monitor progress and make intervention decisions. During the review of data the team will note which students are demonstrating growth and determine if those students are ready to begin transitioning to a self-management phase. The team will also determine what intervention changes need to occur for students who are not making progress.
Students may be faded from an intervention when they have consistently met their goals for at least four weeks. This is an average across days. If a student meets their goal four out of five days for at least four weeks, it’s a good indicator that they may be ready to transition to the self-management phase. Students should always receive instruction for self-management skills before CICO is terminated.
Self-monitoring in CICO is a way to increase the student’s responsibility for his/her behavior without prompting from adults. Students continue to use a point card and they rate their behavior then compare their rating to the rating the teacher gives them. If the student’s score matches the teacher’s score we have success! Eventually, teachers score fewer classes/periods during the day until the student is monitoring their behavior for the whole day on their own. The CICO coordinator should keep entering point card data to make sure self-management is working.
At Tier 2, CI/CO beginning and end of day meetings (for goal review, encouragement, review, & reinforcement) facilitated by the classroom or non-classroom CI/CO Intervention Coach would likely last around 3 minutes each. In total, this would amount to approximately 30 minutes minutes of direct, 1:1 goal-focused meeting time per week, not including the 1 minute per day (5 minutes per week) of behind-the-scenes work by the classroom teacher responsible for daily ratings of the student-specific goals identified.
At Tier 3, there may be a daily mid-day check-in (around 3 additional minutes per day) added to the standard CI/CO beginning and end of day meetings, or the beginning and end of day meetings may be extended a few minutes to allow for additional modeling and practicing of the behavioral goal(s). In total, this would amount to approximately 45 to 60 minutes of direct 1:1 goal-focused meeting time per week, not including the 1 minute per day (5 minutes per week) of behind-the-scenes work by the classroom teacher responsible for daily ratings of the student-specific goals identified.
To progress monitor the CI/CO intervention's impact on student goals, CI/CO Daily Goals Sheets can be summarized on the CI/CO Progress Monitoring Chart included at the end of this SCSD CI/CO Handbook.
Crone, D. A., Horner, R. H., & Hawken, L. S. (2004). Responding to problem behavior in schools: The Behavior Education Program. New York: Guilford Press.
Hawken, L. S., Macleod, K. W., & Rawlings, L. (2007). Effects of the Behavior Education Program on problem behavior with elementary school students. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 9, 94-101.