Introduction to the Gap
Since the start of my internship, I was interested in working with the students services Multilingual (ML) team who planned classroom lessons and touched on social-emotional learning concepts, in addition to academic material. Those classroom push-ins took place during their English class, ESL-Entry 1 or 2.
Although classroom push-ins were about providing support resources and information to newcomer students, there was a gap that warranted filling. Newcomer students have historically adjusted to a variety of changes:
In addition to newcomer students learning to adjust to American school systems, high school counselors are meant to to counsel students, year after year, until they reach graduation. However, reaching graduation is only possible if students fulfill their credits with a passing grade. Most ML students are directly impacted by that standard that they are considered “off-track” as soon as they arrive to the country because they are credit deficient or they may lack the skills and resources to earn credits. Though schools are approaching the culturally responsive and integrative supports for the ML population, ML students are missing something that every person needs: executive functioning skills [2].
Upon working with the ML population during classroom push-ins, I noticed that students struggled with time-management, asking for help, and organization, meaning that students needed instruction on executive functioning skills. Perhaps those skills may not close the gap for this population, but applying those skills may help these students go from failing to passing and reduce the number of courses needed to retake to be considered “on-track”.
Target Group & Intervention
What is the target group?
Why was this group topic or intervention chosen?
Intervention
Participation Data
Multilingual students were identified using Panorama Data and Infinite Campus Data Reports. ML students were identified with a filtered search on Panorama “show me ESL-Entry 1-3 students who received a D or F in the last year”. In addition to the search, a total of 40 freshmen and sophomore students were reviewed from the 6 ML class rosters. Combining both data points, students who received a D or F on their transcripts were reserved for further consideration, narrowing the 40 students to 20 students. Of the 20 students, students who received Fs were prioritized, and were asked to partake in a screener-interview. Students who accepted were recruited, while students who declined were replaced by students who received Ds on their transcript, who accepted recruitment. Of the remaining 20 ML students across the 6 ML classes, only 10 students were recruited: 8 of 10 students consistently participated in the 7-week academic group.
References
Grupo de Apoyo Academico: An Academic Support Group for Multilingual (ML) Underclassmen students
Ruby Fraire
Northeastern Illinois University
ASCA Mindsets & Behavior Data
Outcome Data
SMART Goal: By April 2026, at least 50% of the 10 recruited students will raise a failing grade of concern, to a passing letter grade (from an F to a D, D to a C, etc.).
The SMART goal was met with 7 students self-reporting grade improvement. 3 students did not participate in the post-test survey. Students also reported higher ratings for ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors as presented on the table.
Takeaways
Student Insight and Quotes about Supports: In addition to students participating in the Grupo de Apoyo Academico, all Palatine High School students participated in a pilot program called Crew Connect, a 33-minute academic and social-emotional support period on Wednesdays, from February to April 2026. Students had the opportunity to visit their teachers or their teachers invited them to their classrooms for further academic support. About half of my students shared that they liked Crew Connect and wanted to spend more than 33-minutes, one day a week, receiving academic support from their core classes: Math, Science, English and PE. The other half of students shared that Crew Connect could be helpful to them if they received language support from their non-core classes like PE, Consumer Education, Art, etc. Quotes:
Future Development: Perhaps creating and offering a Multilingual academic support group that is organized by the Multilingual Department could help students receive consistent instruction on executive functioning skills to further support their academic success.