Progress Check-In
A conversation, at each family progress observation, between your family and a mentor about your child's progress, using the Passport and your child's own self-ratings.
What it is
At each family progress observation during the year (the first is planned for February 23, 2027), we'll offer every family a short check-in about how your child is doing. It's a conversation, not a report card. There are no grades in the Lab and there won't be any here.
The Lab is proposed and not running yet, so no check-ins have taken place. This page describes how they'll work.
What we'll look at together
Your child's Passport
Mentors award Passport stamps for skills: 3 skills per Mission, 42 in all. Six stamps complete one color badge. Children work at their own pace, so we look at which colors your child has finished and which Mission they are on now.
| Color | Missions |
|---|---|
| Red | 1. Meet the Machine · 2. Build Your Crate |
| Orange | 3. Beats, Bars and Phrases · 4. Mix on the One |
| Yellow | 5. Tempo with the Lights On · 6. Beatmatch by Ear |
| Green | 7. The Three Knobs · 8. Make a Third Song |
A missing stamp isn't a failure. It just shows a skill to come back to.
Your child's own words
- Traffic-light self-ratings from each Check Out: I got it / Getting there / Not yet.
- "Next time I'll…" lines your child wrote.
- "Data!" count: how often they named what went wrong in a mix and tried again. We see a high number as a good sign of persistence.
- Challenge levels they've been choosing in Deck Time 2: Mild, Medium or Spicy.
The first listen-back
Mission 6 is the first listen-back Mission: your child records 2 minutes and reviews it with a mentor. We'll talk about what they noticed. (Recordings are deleted after the review unless you asked for a copy. See photos and recordings.)
Questions we'll ask
- What does your child say about the Lab at home?
- Is anything making it hard to come, like the time, pickup or transportation?
- Is the challenge level right?
- Does your child want to try Spotlight, or would they rather not? (Spotlight is always voluntary.)
- Is there anything we should know or do differently?
Your answers also feed our feedback loop.
How it works
- About 10–15 minutes, at pickup or by phone, whichever is easier.
- Your child is welcome to join, and we encourage it. It's their progress.
- The conversation happens in view of others, never in a closed room alone with a child, in line with our safety policies.
- You can see the same information any time with your private family link to /dj-lab/live/. It shows only your own child.
Want to talk sooner?
You don't have to wait for a progress observation. Contact Stephen Henry at 872-255-9333 or stephen@selassiefest.com.