Social Emotional Win
Tori is currently in the 8th grade at Leland Middle School. He and his mother live with his aunt and uncle. Tori does not have a home of his own. He was referred to the Communities In Schools Action for Success program (CIS AFS) by both guidance counselors at Leland Middle School at the end of his 6th grade year. Tori exhibited academic struggles, disruptive behaviors, and difficulty with peers. He had problems staying in his seat and causing disruptions on the school bus. While in 6th and 7th grades at Leland Middle, Tori stated that he did not feel comfortable around adults. This led to social problems and lack of communication because of not talking around adults in school.
Tori began CIS math tutoring with Ms. Thompson, CIS Success Coach at LMS, in June after 6th grade. It was discovered that he was very smart, but not applying himself in the classroom or completing and turning in work. Tori joined a CIS math tutoring group 7th grade. He was unwilling to attend, didn’t complete work, and was disruptive. He was then placed in a one-on-one tutoring group to give him more focus but was not a good fit. Not only did Tori complain about going, he still did not complete work. It was decided to try individual tutoring with Tori and Ms. Thompson after school. This went better and fit well to Tori’s learning style.
This year Tori is in the 8th grade. He has been attending a one-on-one math tutoring group and doing well. He is going to tutoring sessions on his own and doing the work with no complaints. Tori has also had no major disciplinary referrals this year! His behavior has changed and is much different than his younger 6th and 7th grade years. Through CIS and the care and support he has received, Tori has become more mature and thinks of his actions before reacting. He continues to attend individual math tutoring on his own. It is not necessary for Ms. Thompson to keep check on him for attending. He still struggles with his math comprehension, but he regularly attends tutoring for help and keeps trying harder.
Tori even says he feels more confident in social setting with adults now. “Because of Ms. Thompson and CIS, I have more confidence now,” said Tori. His social skills have improved through CIS programming enabling him to have confidence and carry on conversations with adults regularly.
