Date of Award

8-2025

Degree Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

School

Psychology

Committee Chair

Emily DeFouw

Committee Chair School

Psychology

Committee Member 2

Zachary LaBrot

Committee Member 2 School

Psychology

Committee Member 3

Joe Olmi

Committee Member 3 School

Psychology

Abstract

Dropout prevention efforts commonly address risk factors including chronic absenteeism, which continues to be a nationwide concern. Check & Connect is a student engagement intervention that aims to improve graduation rates and mitigate several risk factors of dropout. Previous research has failed to address if the frequency of Check & Connect meetings results in varied effectiveness of the intervention. The current study aims to evaluate the effects of modified frequency of Check & Connect meetings on academic engagement, term grade average, absences, and office discipline referrals through the use of a multiple baseline across participants design. Results revealed that students overall rated the increased frequency of Check & Connect meetings as socially acceptable and received fewer ODRs during the intervention phase or stabilized at zero. However, the study did not support previous findings that the Check & Connect intervention might lead to increased academic engagement, reduced absences, or improved term grades. Practical limitations and future directions for implementing Check & Connect in a rural high school setting are discussed.

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