Strategies for Working with High Risk Students

Teaching "High Risk" students at the High School level can be very challenging, but some progress can be made if you learn some strategies. I have taught Special Education for 33 years and "High Risk" students for two years. I would like to share experiences and hopefully help others that might deal with this type of student. Three things that might help are to get to know the student, try to understand the student's outside of school situations and understand your resources, and to be flexible when dealing with a "High Risk " student.

From day one you have to get to know your student's. From my experience all students love music. It is okay and even good to let them know about your musical taste and share that with them, but try not to be judgmental about a student's preferences. Several "High Risk" students I've worked with were musicians and spent a lot of their spare time getting together with other students playing music. Students, during break time, would like to lift weights, play hacky sack, shoot baskets, and play video games. Just observing these students gave me ideas on what they liked.

Students that are "High Risk" typically do not have home situation that you are familiar with. One of the first things I tried to do before the day began is make sure the students were not hungry. This was not that difficult at the school I worked at because we had a breakfast and lunch program that was free to low income students. I would always keep left overs in a refrigerator because many students would come in late and not get breakfast or lunch ordered. We all have probably learned about "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs", and this really applies to some students. Sometimes students come in with emotional situations that make it all but impossible to get them past and if you cannot take them aside and help them work through these problems you might have to rely on outside resources as a school counselor, another teacher, a principal, or a community mental health counselor. You need to be aware of all the community resources that can assist you in your job because often this type of student have multiple needs which one person cannot meet

Finally, I believe you need to learn to be flexible. You must realize that things that work one day might not work at all another. You can't beat yourself up because some days nothing will work. I had a colleague that was trying techniques on a "High Risk" student. I don't remember the exact details, but she had a Plan A and had a Plan B all mapped out for the student. The student who wasn't too impressed with the options laid out in front of him said, "I choose Plan C". Plan C was saying some expletives, wadding up his paper, tossing it, and walking out of class. Does this mean her strategies were not worth trying? I don't think so, but I think again you must realize that there is no exact blueprint when working with these students.

Working with "High Risk" students can be very challenging. Getting to know your students, understanding students out of school situations and knowing of outside resources, and being flexible are keys to making headway in a difficult job.

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