2024 Reflections from Beyond School

Reflecting on 2024, the students in our Beyond School program have shown incredible growth and success this year. Success coaches, who work closely with these students at each site, share and celebrate the progress they have witnessed and their goals for the year ahead. These stories were submitted anonymously from AmeriCorps Success Coaches from three of our school sites. 

“As 2024 comes to a close, and 2025 approaches, it's nice to think back on the past months and what my 7th graders have accomplished. Over the months the crew has bonded and established routines like our daily check-in that the kids now look forward to as a way to talk about their day. The kids have progressed through literacy checks that show growth that is not only impressive, but they show pride in their improvements and light up when they see their record increased.  
 
As I look at what the 7th graders at Kairos have accomplished, I can only set goals for the future year, one of these is getting them excited about math and finding ways to connect them to math. I would love to find a way that they can see their growth like in the literacy tests as well as be proud of their growth and smile when they see it. That is my primary additional goal for the upcoming 2025 year.” 

-Kairos Success Coach, ACM 

“This year, our kindergarten and 1st-grade students have made tremendous strides in building a supportive and respectful community. Through weekly activities focused on kindness, such as Kind Kim and Mix and Mingle dance parties, the students have not only learned to recognize the value of kind words and actions but have also begun to naturally practice them with each other. Students now regularly help one another, offer words of encouragement, and actively listen when a peer is speaking. It has been so special to watch a group of kids go from strangers to classmates and even best friends. I get to watch Sakari, Lawrenzoe, and Kaisson excitedly talk about football and Juliette, Kross, and Kingslee play tag together every day on the yard. Their growing bond as a unit is evident in the way they create an environment where everyone feels welcome and loved. This also makes a more productive learning environment where students know it is okay to make mistakes and try new things without judgement from their peers. 

As we look ahead to the next semester, our goal is to continue this emotional growth by focusing on emotional regulation. Our students have enjoyed and already started to use the lessons we’ve done about how to use their words to describe their emotions. By introducing more structured lessons on identifying and expressing emotions and on calm-down techniques, we hope to help each child develop stronger self-control. I watch my students deal with big and small emotions every single day so we will continue to work together to learn how to deal with those emotions. With the foundation of kindness and respect already in place, we are excited to see how these new skills will deepen our classroom community and further enrich the children's social and emotional learning.” 

-Biome Success Coach, ACM 

“This semester, I am especially thankful for my students and their perseverance. Their engagement with new supports like Kahoot! reviews for science and guided notes for our ELA Wonder unit showed me how much they can grow with the right tools. For instance, Jonny's progress in ELA, where he moved from a 10.93% grade before the test to earning a 20.25/24 on the assessment, raised his overall grade to 68.56%. Similarly, Riley improved from a 59.37% to a current grade of 82.16%. In science, Felix’s participation in the Kahoot! review contributed to his outstanding test score of 49/50, while Kenna’s engagement led her to achieve 48/50, raising her grade to 94.65%. These moments remind me why I serve-to help students realize their potential. 
 
As 2025 approaches, my goal is to build on this year’s successes by refining the supports I provide. This year, we’ve accomplished a lot, from boosting test scores to fostering a love for reading in our Wonder discussions. Overall, 10 of my 12 ELA students improved their test scores, with several gaining over 20 percentage points. In science, students who participated in the Kahoot! review averaged 43.8/50 on the test, compared to 35.6/50 for those who were absent. Next year, I hope to deepen student engagement and offer even more tailored resources to ensure every learner thrives. The progress we’ve made so far inspires me to aim even higher for my crew’s success.” 

-LPA Success Coach, ACM 

If you are interested in becoming a Beyond School AmeriCorps member or want to learn more, please visit missionstl.org/beyond school.