The Weekly “Connect” Meeting

Why focus on relationship building?

The foundation of C&C is the student-mentor relationship. The “Connect” meeting is a time to build that relationship, as well as to discuss students’ school experiences. Research shows that having a relationship with one caring adult at school acts as a protective factor for students who are otherwise at risk of dropping out.

Protective Factors are elements in a student’s life which act as buffers against the effects of status risk factors in a student’s life. Please see the table below to compare protective factors and alterable risk factors predictive of school dropout (from Implementing with Fidelity, p. 23).

Since your relationship with your students is a protective factor, it is essential that you intentionally build and nurture a relationship based on mutual trust and open communication.

Alterable risk and protective factors associated with school dropout

	Alterable Risk Factors	Protective Factors
Students	High rate of absences Behavior problems Poor academic performance (e.g., course failure) Grade Retention Working many hours	Completing homework Coming to class prepared High locus of control Good self-concept Expectations for school completion
Families	Low educational expectations Mobility Permissive parenting styles (i.e., lack of supervision or monitoring) Few educational resources and support at home	Academic support for learning (e.g., help with homework) Motivational support for learning (e.g., high expectations, talk to children about school) Availability of educational resources Parental monitoring
Schools	Weak adult authority Large school size (>1,000 students) High pupil-teacher ratios Few caring relationships between staff and students Poor or uninteresting curricula Low expectations High rates of truancy Limited parent outreach	Orderly school environments Committed, caring teachers Fair discipline policies Relationship with one caring adult Opportunities for participation