Advocacy Intervention Write-Up

Introduction
Based on the records from the Registrar at Interlake High School, there are
approximately 100 female students enrolled at Interlake who identify as Latina/Hispanic. Of
these students, 10 freshman, 15 sophomores, 13 juniors and 14 seniors were selected at
random. These students took an anonymous quantitative survey that was designed to measure
the amount of connection Latina students feel toward this school. Based on the results of this
needs assessment, there are three factors that could be addressed using an intervention. First,
86% of those students surveyed reported that they are currently receiving free/reduced lunch.
Second, the data demonstrates that many Latina students do not feel connected to their peers.
Lastly, the majority of those students surveyed did not believe that their academic achievement
was higher than their peers or that their achievement was higher than at their previous school.
Generate Vision Data
Based on the data collected from the needs assessment, I would like to implement an
intervention that results in 80% of Latina students feeling connected at school and supported
(ex:selecting agree or strongly agree on the same needs assessment). The primary reason for
addressing this particular piece of data is that when students feel more connected to their
school, attendance and grades may improve. In addition, by improving feelings of
connectedness to Interlake, these students may also feel more supported, become more
involved and gain a more positive attitude about their experience in High School. Lastly,
feelings of connectedness to school can also serve as a protective factor for drug and alcohol
use, truancy, and graduation rates.
Commitment to Benchmarks
The data from the needs assessment demonstrated that only 47% of the Latina students
surveyed agree that they feel close to people at Interlake High School and only 63% believed
that a

Advocacy Intervention Write-Up

peer would notice if they were absent. In order to measure the effectiveness of the selected
intervention, I would deliver the same needs assessment each year and use 5 data
benchmarks. During the first year of the intervention, I would hope to increase the feelings of
connectedness by 6%. To measure this, I would use the same needs assessment and
expected a 6% increase in those students who feel close to people at their school and believe
that a peer would notice if they were absent. After one year, I would expect that the intervention
would be altered to increase effectiveness and we would see more improvement in the next two
years. Based on this theory, years two and three would demonstrate an 8% increase in school
connectedness. During the final two years of the intervention, I would expect there to be
increased difficulty in making large amounts of change due to outside variables. I would expect
a 4% increase in the 4th and 5th years.
When and How to Intervene
There are many possible interventions that could benefit Latina High School students
and improve school connectedness. On a more individual or micro level, individual and group
counseling could be used succinctly as an intervention to bond students and then identify
different systems of support throughout the school. In addition, shorter, three to four session
psychoeducational groups could be provided for all students at the beginning of the year about
different systems of supports and ways to increase involvement at school. Along with these
psychoeducational lessons, information could be sent home to parents about the benefits of
school connectedness and ways to increase this in their students. On a broader level, these
students could be supported by the community by creating a group tutoring program. This
program could be funded by a grant from the Bellevue School District School Board and

Advocacy Intervention Write-Up

involve members of the community to serve as mentors and supporters of these students while
other students from Interlake could receive community service by serving as peer tutors.
Selecting an Intervention
As the main goal of this intervention is to improve school connectedness, I will
implement a group counseling intervention to improve relationships and support among peers,
build self-esteem, and help identify additional systems of support in the school. I will begin by
asking the administrators, teachers and counselors for referrals for 9th and 10th grade Latina
students and then individually interview each prospective group member. Depending on the
number of referrals I will conduct one or two groups of 8-10 students. Each group will last six
weeks and the curriculum will be based on La Voz, a series of lessons for group counseling with
Latina students based on the ASCA national model. In addition, several of the lessons will
include activities that help students feel more connected to one another and their school. In
order to provide data for improving the intervention in the future, a pre and post test will be given
at the beginning and the end of the 6-week period.