Mini BITES – tracking tips and tricks to help balance your life

1. 7/26/12 Mini BITES – tracking tips and tricks to help balance your life

2. What is “Tracking”? • I monitor student progress weekly to • ensure 4 goals: • Students are submitting assignments • Single digit overdue monthly calls • Withdraw as few students as possible • Hit my target number of completions weekly End goal is always to reach or exceed my credit minimum!

3. What does my week look like? • It starts on Sunday evening! • -All emails out (grace period ending upcoming week, grace period over, monthly calls due in 11 days or less, 2nd welcome call emails to CA students, motivational emails to students behind and/or in weeks 16-18). • -Try to clear gradingfrom weekend • -Handwrite call lists for the week • -Weekly update to students Take advantage of being able to work from home, and set yourself up for success! If you can do something during non-call hours, DO IT! This will leave your days free to make/receive outgoing calls and have fun with your family. 

4. What does my week look like? • AM: • *Run notification center in educator (more on that in a moment… whoohoo!) • * Update kudos section on AP of students who submitted 5+ assignments. Send icards • * Add to handwritten list – non workers week prior, special notation for pending SSC students (no work in 2+ weeks), email SSC warnings to students 2+ weeks with no work, forcing slides in educator • * Activate new students for the week, check for new students and send email (set up One Call Now depending on # of students) • 10-11am*Outgoing calls to homeschool students, parents for mc • 11-3pm*Try to answer as many incoming calls/texts as possible, no outgoing calls • 3-4:30pm (or whenever naptime is)*Outgoing calls to priority 1 kids for the week (alternates between monthly calls, CA kids, and non workers, students nearly finished) • 4:30-7pm*Try to answer as many incoming calls/texts as possible, no outgoing calls • 7-8:30pm*Continue outgoing calls to priority 1 kids for the week

5. What does my week look like? • Tuesday and Wednesday – outgoing call times are the same as Monday 10-11am, 3-4:30pm (or whenever naptime is ), 7-8:30pm *I alternate priorities during call times: (monthly calls, CA kids, non workers, students nearly finished, or any IL priority that has been communicated) -Of course, there are meetings and things that come up during the day in our jobs, but I try to not sit down and do any “secretarial” work until after call hours. -I grade nightly while I catch up on my reality tv shows in the evening.  (all assignments submitted the previous day) FLEX DAYS: Thursday and Friday incoming calls, text messages out, call parents/students who have not contacted me by Wed for MC, any special circumstances or follow-ups, try to clear grading Friday evening. NO WORK SATURDAY

6. Notification center • Do you want to stop CHASING kids? • Remember, this is run once per week on Monday morning (or after midnight on Sunday if you’re a night owl like me) • It seems like a lot of effort, but I PROMISE that it makes your life easier during the week. Let’s application share…

7. Misc tips and tricks Where is your computer?

8. Misc tips and tricks Texting Outlook calendar Flexibility Sharing who YOU are Positivity

9. Your challenge • Monday is right around the corner. Sometime today or tomorrow, plan out next week (on paper). • When we return for our next session, I would love to hear what worked and what didn’t. Everyone here can learn from each other- we are our best resources!

10. All right, who’s up next? • _____________Mail Merge • _____________ One Call Now • _____________ Grace period system • _____________ Getting kids to cross the finish line • _____________ Purposeful phone calls _____________ Building rapport with students _____________ Grading efficiently