Redefining Success In The Student Success Lab

By Nissa Reynolds, Dean of Student Services

The transition to Middle School is a time of excitement at Dawson. Students choose electives for the first time, walk independently from class to class, and store their belongings in lockers. Yet Middle School also presents students with increased executive functioning demands because they learn to juggle multiple classes and teachers, homework expectations, and family and extracurricular commitments. Recognizing these needs, last school year Dawson expanded its learning support offerings by adding the Student Success Lab (SSL) program for fifth through eighth-grade students. Students enroll in this semester-long course in lieu of a world language. In the spirit of differentiation and meeting students exactly where they are, SSL provides Middle Schoolers with the personalized opportunity to learn executive functioning skills in a designated small-group setting through a structured curriculum.

Nissa Reynolds, Dean of Student Services, spoke with Matsuko Freeman, Dean of Student Success and SSL lead teacher, about her reflections on the inaugural year of the Student Success Lab program.

Describe the curriculum and methods you employ in SSL to facilitate student learning.

We use the SMARTS (Strategies, Motivation, Awareness, Resilience, Talents, and Success) curriculum, which is scaffolded for each grade level, takes into consideration where Middle Schoolers are in their development, and includes skills and understandings related to executive functioning. It incorporates goal setting, cognitive flexibility, organization and prioritizing, time management, working memory, self-monitoring, and advocacy.

Learning support team members also address specific math and literacy areas with students through a push-in model multiple times per six-day DAWSON cycle. Along with core teachers, the dean of student success and our learning strategists work together to make sure Dawson meets the academic and executive functioning needs of students enrolled in this course. This collaboration allows the SSL program to be highly individualized.

How is Dawson’s Student Success Lab different from what is offered at other schools in Las Vegas?

Dawson’s approach is more inclusive and developmentally appropriate because most schools in the valley don’t offer a specialized program for executive functioning skills. Other schools simply provide a study hall for students where they can complete homework or receive academic help, but that stops short of providing explicit instructions for how to prioritize assignments and manage time, as well as other skills students need to become successful academically and in life. Just as in math or reading, subjects need to be made transparent to students so they grow to become selfdirected learners.

High schools notice and appreciate that our students in the SSL program are independent and well-prepared. I’m incredibly proud that all of last year’s eighth-grade students were admitted to their first-choice high schools!

A year from now, what is one goal you have for our students and the SSL program?

My goal is for students to develop measurable advancements toward executive functioning skills with particular attention to self-advocacy, such as knowing how and when to approach a teacher for help or emailing a teacher on their own. Self-advocacy can be a difficult area for students because it involves knowing and understanding themselves as learners, reflecting upon what support they can and should seek from their teachers, and executing a plan.

Looking back on the first year of the SSL program at Dawson, what have you learned?

We’ve certainly accomplished a stronger partnership with families. Families help not only with the goal-setting students engage in at the beginning of the semester, but also with the carry over and implementation of strategies and systems at home. At Dawson, parent partnership is always encouraged, and for students in the SSL program, the positive impact of family support is a key part of our success. What we’ve also observed is students have gained skills that are beneficial to their learning. It’s a joy to see children execute some of the skills they’ve acquired, as well as express happiness when they realize the competencies they’ve gained have helped them to improve their grades.