Agents
Agents are digitally based near-peer mentors offering an array of comprehensive on-demand student support services designed to maximize student potential and increase their chances of achieving success in college, careers, and life. Agents are your staff's global network of high-demand professionals, driven college students, and niche specialists who increase the horsepower (or should we say people power 😄) in your school district.
Agents represent over 150 universities and dozens of top companies across the country. They go through a strict and comprehensive selection process before accessing our platform to work one-on-one with your students. They will effectively communicate with staff and guide students along the path to success.
Agent Demographics
She prints out, like, this time sheet for me that I can use to keep track of my time scheduling with so many things going on in my life. She helps me keep calm and she's a great mentor. I'm really glad I got to know who Desirae is.
Heather, Senior, Shiprock High School
For me motivation is a big problem. I always need extra support. She is not only my agent, she’s my friend, and I can always rely on her and that means a lot.
Naomi, Senior, Los Lunas High School
I will tell her about my English work because she is majoring in English. I will tell her about my homework and she will help me out with it. She gives me good tips.
Tiffany, Junior, Desoto High School
We work on: scholarship essays, homework, editing YouTube videos, applying for college, learning FAFSA, communication skills, creating schedules, and understanding self-care. The most amazing part of my job is watching students grow into a version of themselves which they believed could never exist.
Pooja, University of Oklahoma, SSA Agent
What it means to have an agent is like having an extra person there to help you and to keep you on track. I forget things all the time and she helps with things like signing up for my ACT.
Tiffany, Senior, Los Lunas High School
I love the diversity of work I do with my students. Sometimes, it’s direct. For instance, we could fill out a scholarship application together. Other times, it’s the soft skills. This week, I taught my of my students how to send an email asking for an extension. I’ve learned to measure success and progress in entirely different ways than I once did. Learning how to navigate office hours at a university, won’t give you money explicitly, but it can be the factor that allows for the Dean’s scholarship that semester. That’s what makes being an agent so much more than just an academic mentor.
Tania, UCLA, SSA Agent
To hear about the amazing things they want to do, whether it's something as small as getting through their next exam, or something as impactful as becoming a doctor to support their families and give back to their communities. They inspire me so much. Seeing other powerful women doing amazing things makes me more confident I can do the same. All I have to do in return is help them see and reach their full potential. I know my girls will be running the world someday, and I'm grateful to be a part of that.
Kawena, Stanford University, SSA Agent
Our Agents
Value for Students
When agents and students connect, they engage in activities such as:
Our agents are trained in our DMO Framework, which allows them to take a holistic approach for each student they mentor while achieving school outcomes. Our agents use the best parts of traditional mentoring programs by giving high-growth students more one-on-one time. At the same time, they use our software system to lead students to customized achievements based on their needs.
We understand that all students have the ability to achieve high grades in school, but each students' intrinsic motivation requires a different amount of encouragement to drive action and reach that point. Agents are accountability partners, championing students through the good and bad days of their lives so that students can still show up to school and perform.
Students will be able to connect with our agents after school to get help on academic assignments in subjects ranging from algebra to college-level math and science. Students will get access to one-on-one academic help around their schedule from our certified tutors, which can increase students’ grades and test results. Here is a list of the core subjects we can tutor students through directly from their phone, tablet, or computer.
Your seniors and their families will be able to get on-demand help with FAFSA questions to increase your district’s FAFSA completion rate. Our agents will work as an extra pair of hands for your counselors and college center staff and follow through on any initiatives, strategies, or campaigns to inform students of the importance of this document.
Your students receive access to ACT and SAT tutors who can help prepare them for these tests throughout their middle and high school academic careers. We understand that some students start taking practice exams early, so we want to boost their comprehension and their confidence with knowledge and test-taking strategies. We are aware that these tests put low-income students or families who can't afford private sessions at a disadvantage, and we pride ourselves on being an equitable solution for all of your kids.
Our agents have conversations about college interests and help your students assess the best colleges for them. We compare their grades, class rank, and overall resume to college admission statistics across to country to help them find institutions that give them the best chances of graduating with a degree. Our agents will help students apply to 5-10 colleges their senior year and amplify the impact of your college advising staff by making sure our virtual support aligns with their methods of ensuring college completion.
The world is changing quickly and the jobs and fields of the future may not exist today or in your nearby community, which makes it challenging for your students to gain exposure to their professional possibilities. We pair students with agents based on career interests and hobbies to start creating a network of opportunities and industry professionals that help make innovative careers attainable.
Ongoing active engagement between students and agents offers your students a unique opportunity to gain the valuable skills needed to succeed in an ever-evolving, 21st-century global society.
- Hope & optimism
- Self-regulation
- Vision for the future
- Empathy & global stewardship
- Grit & rigor
- Curiosity, creativity & imagination
- Critical thinking & problem solving
- Flexibility & adaptability
- Communication, collaboration & teamwork across networks
- Global & cultural awareness
- Leadership & flow
- Social Responsibility & ethics
- Technology & digital literacy
Students increased engagement on our platform over the calendar year.
We meet students where they are, on their phones.
Our platform allows students to interact with support service around their schedule, on their own time, and in their preferred medium: text.
Students tune out to face to face, email, or phone calls overtime, which impact student engagement significantly. Due to the new landscape of schools, having a mobile strategy is important for school districts to retain students while off campus and after school hours.
As a result you can expect:
- Decreased absenteeism among student participants
- Increased number of students pursuing leadership opportunities
- Increased number of students participating in extracurricular activities
- Increased GPA among student participants
- Increased high school graduation rate among student participants
- 10X more personalized advising time through the college process
- 3.6X increase in college matriculation
Plus, as an added bonus, SSA has the capability of using its embedded two-way messaging system to send out important group messages related to college, career, or other important enrichment opportunities that your district offers. Whether it is free college application week in your state or your school is offering resume writing support, SSA is committed to enhancing student outreach experiences via its on-time messaging feature.
We recently had a student who was struggling with gender identity and was being bullied at school, but didn't feel like they could talk to anyone here. They opened up to their agent and SSA informed us of their concern for the student. We were able to intervene and work with the student to help them feel safer at school. Without SSA, we would not have known this student was feeling threatened at school.
Ms. Stemm, District Coordinator, Vancouver ISD
I think people will be pleasantly surprised at how much their students enjoy it and how much they can learn from it. The thing I really like is their monthly reports are thorough. They'll tell us, OK, we did 1,260 interactions last month.
Ms. Long, Program Coordinator, Washington and Lee High School
With every conversation, I feel that I am making a lasting impact on them, and that really warms my heart. Just like I've made an impact on them, they've made an impact on me as well.
Jaleel, University of Alabama, SSA Agent
With the partnership with the Student Success Agencies and Huffman High School, I think we have an opportunity to expose students to opportunities that they never imagined having, or at least making them aware of the opportunities that they didn't know of before.
Mr. Lyons, Principal, Huffman High School
SSA provides an avenue for students that is vital to the student's all around well-being and I was pleasantly surprised by the number of hours that the students logged with their agent/mentor. I cannot stress enough the importance of the role of SSA and how blessed we are to have it in our schools!
Ms. Hamrick, Work-Based Learning Coordinator Nye Schools
Our Agents
Value for Schools
Schools that equip their staff with a web of digital Success Agents can extend their impact while being more productive.
The average student in your schools will spend 20-45 minutes a month on our platform interacting with our Success Agents. Data is immediately collected and eventually distributed back to your staff in digestible updates. Our platform track time and conversational data, which are then reinforced by notes and goals submitted by Success Agents.
Once an insight is created, educators can communicate with their Success Agents to offer expertise, resources, or encouraging advice to continue distributing impact through our platform.
Success Agents will share personalized resources with students based on conversations and requests. Our platform curates a unique database of resources and supports integrating your local resources to provide your students with the right information. Educators can upload resources and share them with Success Agents to utilize when having conversations with students. We also help facilitate the process of creating new resources and opportunities.
Educators can send announcements through our platform to students' devices. Success Agents will reinforce the message and follow up with students about all announcements shared with them. Our platform will allow your staff to personalize announcements for different populations in the school. You can send an announcement to the entire school or craft a message for a single student.
Success Agents explore and research opportunities based on students' interests and goals. We collaborate with your staff and local institutions to surface, source, and match-make opportunities. Our platform optimizes opportunities to find students instead of the other way around.
School staff can delegate student requests and tasks to Success Agents. Here are a list of common tasks Success Agents can help with:
- Follow up with a student about opportunities recommended by staff
- Have important conversations about college and career readiness
- Read and revise student essays
- Review student work and projects
- Help students complete applications or paperwork
- Promote an event to students
- Gauge student interest regarding school events and initiatives
Our Approach
Platform
Solutions for Districts