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From a two‑minute check‑in to a Tier 2/3 service plan

A student checks in. Designated support staff see who may need attention and act early. When a student needs more, the follow-through continues into Tier 2/3, alongside your district’s data.

Running today in Hawaiʻi Department of Education schools and across Nebraska’s ESU 2, and in schools in other countries. Districts & states

A homeroom teacher stands at the front of the class while students check in on their tablets.

The check‑in is step one of four

A check-in on its own ends when the student taps submit. TrustCircle carries each check-in to the staff who can help, records what they did, and connects it to Tier 2/3 support when it’s needed.

  1. Classroom

    Students check in

    Four feelings and a reason

  2. Support staff

    Support staff see who may need attention

    Designated staff only

  3. Staff and student

    They act early

    Pin, note, resolve

  4. With district data

    Tier 2/3 follow-through

    Service plans, sessions, outcomes

A support staff member walks a student back to class, the two of them talking.

Joy, Anger, Fear, Sad, and a sentence about why

During 2–3 minutes of class time, each student opens TrustCircle on their own device, rates four feelings and writes a short reason. It’s private: only designated support staff see it.

What the teacher does
Gives the class 2–3 minutes. Nothing else.
What else students can do
Challenges, mindfulness, journaling and gratitude, plus validated assessments when your school uses them.
When a student wants help
They can ask to talk to someone, for themselves or a friend.

1Students check in

What a student writes usually starts at home, with friends, or at school

So the reason tells support staff where to start the conversation.

Home
“Moving houses this weekend.”
Friends
“Nobody saved me a seat at lunch.”
School
“Big test Thursday, haven’t slept much.”

A short list called “Students who may need attention”

Designated support staff (counselors, behavioral health specialists, or anyone your school chooses) open a list built from today’s check-ins, with the reason each student wrote. It’s short on purpose: most students are fine most days.

What support staff see 

2Support staff see who may need attention

How a check‑in reaches the list

TrustCircle looks across a student’s check-ins over time: the feelings they rate, the reasons they write, and whether they’ve asked to talk to someone. Pattern-finding, including AI, brings the students who may need attention to the top.

It doesn’t diagnose, and it doesn’t act on its own. A member of your support staff reads the reason, decides what to do, and writes it down.

A school counselor sits at her desk, reading a page of notes.

Pin, note, resolve: a record of what you did

Staff decide who to see and what to do. TrustCircle keeps the record, so the list shows what’s been handled and what hasn’t. It doesn’t replace your judgment, your referral process or your school’s protocols.

Pin
Keep a student at the top of your list until you’ve followed up.
Note
Write what happened: a conversation, a call home, a check-in set for next week.
Resolve
Close it once you’ve followed up.

3They act early

Tier 2/3 service plans, kept next to your district’s records

When a student needs more than a conversation, staff can open a service plan, log each session and track outcomes. This step is set up on request and needs data feeds from your district, so plans sit alongside the records you already keep. Hawaiʻi’s Department of Education runs it this way today.

Counselors
Hand a student from Tier 2 to Tier 3 support, with the record going with them.
Behavioral health specialists
Keep student support plans, IEP and 504 plans and service logs in one record. Log sessions against PracticeWise practice elements and print credentialing reports.
Their managers, district and state leaders
Track progress through surveys, outcome reports and dashboards, and print well-being reports.
How HIDOE runs it 

4Tier 2/3 follow-through

A counselor sits in a circle of chairs with three students, talking together.

Connect attendance & well‑being to prevent chronic absenteeism

Where a district shares attendance data, TrustCircle shows well-being and attendance side by side, helping staff spot early patterns linked to chronic absenteeism and intervene before missed days add up.

Only designated support staff see a student’s check‑ins

Administrators, principals, teachers and parents can’t. This is the promise a school makes to students when it asks them to check in every day.

Privacy and student data 
The studentOwn check-ins
Sees their own check-ins and activities.
Designated support staffNames and check-ins
See a student’s name and check-ins, so they can help. Your school decides who is designated.
Administrators and principalsNo check-ins
Don’t see a student’s check-ins.
TeachersClass-level numbers
Give the class time. They see class-level numbers, not individual check-ins.
ParentsNo check-ins
Don’t see check-ins. Families hear from school staff, the way they do today.

Reviewed during school hours. Not a crisis service.

TrustCircle helps staff notice early, in the school day. It doesn’t replace your school’s safety protocols or emergency services.

School hours: reviewedAfter hours: not reviewed
During the school day
Designated support staff review check-ins and follow your school’s procedures.
When it’s urgent
Staff bring in school security or administration, a trusted adult, or local authorities, as your protocol says.
Outside school hours
Check-ins aren’t reviewed. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. For support, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Your SIS stays your SIS

TrustCircle runs alongside your student information system and doesn’t replace it. Rosters come from the systems you already use.

  1. Your systems · stay as they are

    Sign-in and rosters

    • Google sign-in
    • Clever
    • ClassLink/OneRoster
    • PowerSchool
    • Infinite Campus

  2. TrustCircle

    Check-ins, the list, notes

    Students and staff sign in with the accounts they already have.

  3. Added for Tier 2/3 · with your data team

    District data feeds

    In Hawaiʻi, they connect to HIDOE’s own systems.

What districts ask first

Short answers on setup, funding, privacy and safety. The demo covers the rest.

What does a district set up?
Rosters come from the systems you already use. Your schools choose the staff who see the list. That’s all the daily check-in needs.
How do districts pay for prevention work?
Districts usually look at Medicaid, CYBHI in California, ESSA titles and state money. Our guide explains what each one covers and what it doesn’t: How districts fund prevention.
Who decides which staff see the list?
Your school or district. Usually counselors and behavioral health specialists; it can be any staff you designate.
What happens when a check-in needs a response today?
During school hours, designated staff follow your school’s procedures, bringing in a trusted adult, school security or local authorities when it’s urgent. TrustCircle is not a crisis service. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911, or call or text 988.
How does it handle FERPA and COPPA?
Student records are handled under FERPA, and only designated support staff see a student’s check-ins (the table above shows who sees what). Schools consent on families’ behalf under TrustCircle’s COPPA privacy policy, as the law allows for school use.
Do we need Tier 2/3 follow-through to start?
No. Most schools start with the daily check-in and the attention list. Service plans, session logs and outcome tracking are added on request, once your district’s data feeds are connected.

Walk a check‑in through all four steps

We’ll show the check-in, the list your support staff would see, and a Tier 2/3 service plan from start to outcome review.

Request a demo

In your demo

  • Rostering and sign-in for your schools
  • Who your school designates to see the list
  • What Tier 2/3 needs from your data team

Planning the budget?How districts fund prevention