The Five Things We Care About Most
🤝
Relationships First
Connection before content. Every time.
🎯
Targeted Support
Identify needs, deliver specific strategies
📊
Formative Checks
Every session note needs one
🔒
Data Privacy
Teachworks only. No texting academic data.
📅
Show Up
Consistency is part of the intervention
Supporting Diverse Learners
Watch for these patterns — they signal a student needs adapted instruction, not more repetition.
🧠
Loses track of multi-step directionsBreak it into one step at a time. Post each step in the chat.
✍️
Understands verbally, can't produce writingGive a sentence frame. Have them say it aloud before writing.
⏳
Slow to respond or needs significant timeWait 30 full seconds. Silence = processing, not ignoring.
📖
Strong oral English, weak academic writing (LTEL)Target academic language as its own skill. Oral first, write second.
Language rule: Say "a student who has dyslexia" — not "a dyslexic student." Always ask the student or family which they prefer.
Every Lesson Note Must Include
Your notes are reviewed. A note without a formative assessment component will be flagged.
✅
What you coveredSpecific skill or standard — not just "math."
✅
A formative assessment resultExit ticket score · mid-session check response · "student could / couldn't do X independently"
✅
What you'll adjust next sessionBased on what the check revealed.
Good note example: "Worked on adding fractions with unlike denominators. Student got the setup right on 4/5 problems but made LCM errors on 3. Next session: visual LCM practice before returning to full problems."
🤖 Support Bot — Use Before & After Every Session
Before session
"I'm tutoring a [grade] student in [subject]. Today's objective: [specific skill]. Give me a 5-min warm-up, 2 strategies, a mid-session check, and an exit ticket."
"My student has [IEP goal / LTEL status]. Today we're working on [skill]. Give me 2 targeted strategies and a sentence frame scaffold."
After session
"Draft a Teachworks lesson note. Student: [grade]. Topic: [topic]. Strengths: [what went well]. Gaps: [what needs work]. Include a formative assessment summary."
"My student struggled with [concept] today. I tried [strategy]. Give me 2 alternative approaches for a student with [their profile]. What do I adjust next session?"
No-Show Protocol — Every Time
More than 2 in a row: Flag to admin team via Slack immediately — don't wait.
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Leave notes in Teachworks5
Contact A+ admin via Slack
Schedule Changes
Family requests a change → you confirm → notify A+ office via Slack before it takes effect. Automated reminders go out 30 hrs (email) and 3 hrs (text) before each session — the system must reflect the correct time.
Who to Contact for What
| Student / family concern | Paola — Care Coordinator |
| Scheduling (A–L) | Janelle — via Slack |
| Scheduling (M–Z) | Yolanda — via Slack |
| Operations / onboarding | Mandy — Operations |
| Admin / paperwork | Kath — Admin Operations |
| Safety / wellbeing concern | Internal Note in Teachworks + message your coach via Slack |
| Mandatory report (CPS) | 1-800-540-4000 → then notify A+ leadership |
Building Real Belonging — The Non-Negotiables
First sessions
Spend the first 5 minutes on connection — not content. Ask about interests. Let them lead. Academic work follows trust, not the other way around.
When a student shuts down
Validate before redirecting. "That feeling makes sense — this is hard." Then offer the smallest step they can succeed at right now. Rebuild, then return.
Praise that works
Effort and strategy — not outcome. "You went back and reread that — that's exactly the right move." Specific feedback changes behavior. Generic praise doesn't.
Our commitment: A+ operates as a round table — no sides, no hierarchy between home and school. The student is front and center of everything we do. You are the adult in direct contact with that student. That matters more than you know.