Goal-setting effort helps students succeed; Illinois: Ridgewood Community HSD 234.

A goal-setting program at Ridgewood High School in Norridge, Ill., helps students make the transition from elementary to high school and provides them with mentors and a structure for succeeding in a new academic environment.

The program is called A Winning Combination: S.M.A.R.T. Goals + Savvy Mentors = Successful Students. S.M.A.R.T. stands for specific, measurable, action-oriented, reasonable and timely, which are the characteristics required for each goal set. The program resulted in Ridgewood Community HSD 234 being named the Illinois state winner in the 2006 National Civic Star Award competition.

The program, launched in 2000-2001 for all freshmen in Learning Skills Class, evolved from two needs. Because students go directly from elementary to high school without the benefit of a middle-school transition, the independent learning skills required in high school can be a difficult leap, a fact borne out by high failure rates among freshmen. In addition, the district's vision statement required goal-setting. Mentors from area businesses, the high school staff and elsewhere in the community meet with students three times during a nine-week class to help them establish priorities among their assignments and personal goals. The same mentor meets with his or her group of three to five mentees each session. Mentors help students ensure that their goals are specific, measurable, action-oriented, reasonable and timely.

In March 2000, 25 partners participated in a three-hour mentor training session. Topics included Psychology of Youth, Training Students in the Workplace, Finding the Ideal Mentor and Hints for the Mentor Trainer.

In July, these same partners, along with teachers, students and administrators took part a two-hour goal-setting implementation and template design meeting. Mentors brought evaluation ideas from various occupations. The result was the S.M.A.R.T. goal template and the method for implementation.

The template is simply a form that helps students set and carry out their goals. It includes spaces for students to fill out their challenge, goal and benefit of meeting the goal. Students are asked to check off whether the goal is specific, measurable, action-oriented, reasonable and timely.

They then list the steps in a plan of action, log beginning and ending dates for each step and indicate who needs to know about the goal or can help them achieve it. They must also indicate how they will know when they have completed each step.

A follow-up section on the form calls for listing the actual completion date, progress or results and the reward.

Because each student is supported by mentors, teachers, peers and parents, they feel encouraged and successful. The successes increase their confidence and foster greater student achievement. Students in the program are evaluated through a self-reported student survey and a mentor evaluation survey.

In the program's first five years, more than 900 students and 90 mentors have taken part. Surveys indicate that nearly 92 percent of participants believe that the program has helped them set priorities, organize work, complete homework, think positively and make important and difficult choices.

To ensure that the program continues to improve, a steering committee comprised of mentors, teachers, administrators and students meets yearly to review the program's progress and implement changes.

The school benefits from the mentor aspect because mentors often help with job shadowing experiences for the students, serve as career speakers and help with field trips. Mentors benefit by networking with other mentors and, for those from the business community, by gaining favorable attention for their companies.

The goal-setting program has proved highly successful in supporting student's academic achievement. Ridgewood High School frequently receives inquiries from educators in other states who discovered the school's goal-setting template on the Internet. The program can be readily shared, reproduced and implemented.

For more information, contact Superintendent Robert Lupo at Ridgewood Community, HSD 234, 7500 W. Montrose Ave., Norridge, Ill. 60706, or call [phone]. Lupo's e-mail address is [e-mail].