Pairs need to consistently engage with one another via the weekly online lessons in order to establish a strong personal relationship and work toward the mentee developing the knowledge, skills and mindsets necessary for college success with their mentor.  While managing toward this is a focus for PMs throughout the year, establishing strong pair engagement habits early on is crucial to getting new pairs off on the right foot and strengthening the foundation of continuing matches' communication frequency in service of these programmatic goals. 

Snapshot is a great tool to manage efforts to establish these online behaviors in real-time, but S.T.E.V.E. can also be used to identify pairs that require early intervention to correct poor engagement behaviors that could become a trend shortly after lessons begin each year.

Identifying Pairs That May Need Early Intervention 

Once 2-4 lessons have been closed on the Platform, the Focus Finder dashboard in S.T.E.V.E., described in detail HERE, can be used to quickly identify pairs whose engagement behaviors are not trending in the right direction and to whom early support efforts should be deployed to get them back on track.  To do so, follow the steps below:

1. Select your name using the "Select Program Manager" filter on the top right-hand side of the screen.

2. Using the "Mentee Completion %" and/or the "Mentor Completion %" filters, slide the right hand filter down to 0.  This will show you the mentees/mentors that have not completed any of the lessons that have closed to date, depending on the filter(s) you use.  In the example below, mentors are used.

3. Once the dashboard updates, the remaining pairs can represent a great focus list to drive pair support efforts to correct undesirable online engagement habits.   As you can see, there are 3 lessons for all pairs shown, and the mentor completion percentage is 0.

4. To export the remaining pairs for use as a focus list, click on any single cell in the raw data presented, open the "Download" menu on the bottom right-hand side of your screen and select "Crosstab."

• In the resulting dialogue box, click "Download."  An excel file with the data will show up in your "Downloads" folder.

Strategies for Leveraging Data Gathered Through the Steps Above

Armed with the raw data obtained using the method above, PMs have several options regarding action to take in order to correct mentee/mentor/pair engagement trends.  Some examples are listed below, but regardless, PMs should discuss these pairs with their manager to identify appropriate strategies.

• If the mentor slider was used, and mentors that are trending poorly were exported - 
  • PMs can simply use the mentor name in column D to locate the mentors' profiles on the platform, locate their phone number and conduct cold-call proactive outreach to discuss the mentors' lack of online engagement.  Perhaps these mentors would benefit from a calendar appointment for the day prior to class to ensure that they remember to write.
  • The email addresses in column B of the Excel file downloaded can be copied and pasted into an email (ensure the addresses are pasted into the BCC field to protect confidentiality!), along with a link to the PM scheduling tool triggering the mentor to schedule a call with the PM.  
    • Note: The export will also include the number of mentor Touch Points logged to date.  A mentor with no Touch Points has likely not completed a beginning of year call, in addition to engaging poorly, and PMs may want to discuss the specific Match Intervention Protocol for Mentors Not Meeting Expectations and Not Responsive to PM.  
  • When mentee online engagement is trending more positively than their respective mentor, this information can be leveraged to motivate the mentor to write consistently (i.e., share that the mentee is working hard in class to complete the lesson each week and has difficulty carrying on with the curriculum when there isn't a message from their mentor to respond to and continue the discussion).
    • Note: It is also a good practice for PMs to ensure they are providing positive reinforcement to these mentees for engaging consistently despite not receiving messages - and to share that the PM is working to get the mentor on track.

• If the mentee slider was used, and mentees that are trending poorly were exported - 
  • PMs can use the list they created to ensure they are focusing additional attention on the mentees that aren't engaging during class.  PMs can discuss what is preventing the mentee from completing the lesson and provide support based on the mentee's specific challenges.  PMs may also share this list with their co-teacher so that they can reinforce these efforts in the classroom.
  • If PMs notice that the mentees listed are also chronically absent, they might work with their manager on strategies to engage the school partner in attempting to resolve the mentees' attendance issues.

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Still have questions or need assistance with this pro-tip?  Click HERE to contact a member of the National team for help!