High School Advisory Programs

This research explores how high schools design and implement high school advisory programs to build relationships, promote student wellbeing, and guide student academic and postsecondary success. Additionally, this research addresses how schools train and support advisors, encourage advisor engagement, and assess their advisory programs. Keep reading for key observations from this research, and download the full report.

Flexible advisory curriculum promotes teacher engagement

Allowing advisors flexibility in delivering curriculum has shown to maximize teacher engagement. Administrators or advisory committees at all profiled schools provide advisors with curriculum guidelines and resources but allow advisors leeway to deliver the content they find impactful. Contacts report that administrators favor flexibility because much of advisory’s value derives from the relationships students and advisors develop during advisory. With flexible curricula, teachers can select activities that align with their strengths and interests and those of their students, which helps advisors to form relationships. In addition, contacts at profiled schools report that flexible curricula minimize advisor prep time and thus increase teacher engagement

Flexible curriculum allows teachers to select activities that align with their strengths

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Multiyear advisory consistency promotes bonding

Structuring advisory programs so that advisors remain with the same group of students for multiple years has shown to build stronger advisor-student relationships. Administrators at three of the four profiled schools designed their advisory programs so that advisors stay with the same group of students throughout all four years of high school. Contacts at these schools note that multiyear continuity between advisors and students helps students build meaningful, positive relationships with their advisors.

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One-on-one meetings promote student success

It is important for advisors to schedule multiple one-on-one student meetings each year. Contacts at School A and School B note that one-on-one student meetings help advisors both build relationships with their students and assist their students with post-secondary and academic planning. Advisors at School A hold one-on-one academic check-ins with each student at least once a quarter. In these check-ins, students reflect on their academic performance, identify growth areas, and suggest improvement strategies.

One-on-one meetings promote positive advisor-student relationships and help guide students’ postsecondary and academic planning

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Advisory improves students’ sense of connection

Advisory programs have shown to improve students’ sense of connection and foster a sense of school community. Contacts at three out of the four profiled schools report that students feel more connected at school due in part to advisory. Contacts at School D report that students speak articulately about the sense of community they derive from advisory. In addition, survey results from School C show an increase in the proportion of students who feel as though they have at least one trusted adult in the building and the number of students who feel connected at school since advisory’s implementation.

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