DECA AND GATEWAY: TWO PATHS; ONE JOURNEY

Presenters: Kathy Hall and Jade Holley

Nationwide, approximately 1in 3 students dropout of high school.

1.2 million students drop out of school every year 7,000 per day 1 every 26 seconds

49% African American students do not graduate from high school

Alternate Routes to Graduation

GRADUATION

Research shows that the more support a student has in and out of school increases the student’s chances of staying and graduating from high school

Traveler 1: DECA

Black Male Middle School age Academically Average Student Recommended by Counselor DeKalb Resident First in family to go to college Qualifies for Free and Reduced Lunch Being raised by single mom

High school Stop #1: DECA (DeKalb Early College Academy) • Partnership with GPC and DeKalb County schools Established DECA in 2006 • Located in Stone Mountain, GA Accelerated College Prep Curriculum Uniforms (Pre-Owned Available) Small Environment Student Teacher Ratio 1:20 Supportive, Structured Environment High Expectation Built in Tutorial Saturday School for EOCT Prep COMPASS PREP 4X4 Block

DECA Demographics

Sex

180 96 Males Females 3% 5% 3%

Race

89% African American Caucasian Indian

SES

30% 70% Free and Reduced Lunch Do not qualify

Traveler’s Journey through 9

th

grade and 10

th  Student successfully completed 9 th grade and 10 th  Successful placement on the COMPASS  Maintained a 2.8 high school gpa  Set up with a mentor with the YMK Club  Spends time before and after school in tutorial  Mock Trial Team  Applying for scholarships for school fees

Stop # 2: Georgia Perimeter College

Traveler #1 UPDATE:

HS Grad: 50 hrs.

Roadblock:

Fail MATH 1113 GPA Falls below a 2.8, unable to take courses needed for Associates Has to get job over summer, cannot take summer classes

Fall Semester (13 Credit hrs.)

 Math 1111: College Algebra   English 1101: Advanced Composition Chemistry 1151   Chemistry 1151 Lab History 1112: World History II

Fall Semester (13 credit hrs.)

 English 2111 or 2112: World Literature    Economics 2105: Macroeconomics Environmental Science 1401 w/ lab MATH 1431 Intro to Statistics Spring Semester (12 Credit hrs.)  

Spring Semester (12 Credit hrs.)

Math 1113: Pre-Calculus  English 1102: Advanced Composition II  History 2111 United States History Sociology 1101: Intro to Sociology Political Science 1101: American Govt.

  Communication 1201: Public Speaking SPAN 1001: Elementary Spanish   Psychology 1101: Intro to Psychology

Student Support: DECA

• Supports: Tara Boddie, DECA Counselor Mr. Wilson, Support/Club sponsor Kathryn Hall, GPC DECA coordinator and College advisor Supplemental Instructors        Connection to DECA: Clubs, Teams, and Student Officers DECA Specific GPC Orientation: Student & Parent Future Planning Fridays Career Exploration Campus Involvement Relationship with professors: DECA and GPC Progress Monitoring

      

Traveler 2: Gateway to College

18 year old African American Male High School Junior Credits: 15.5 (behind in credits) GPA: 1.4

Enrolled in a DCSD Alternative High School; at risk of dropping out Disengaged in school after loss of father Capable of succeeding in college courses

   

High School STOP #2: Gateway to College Academy (GtCA)

DeKalb County Charter School, opened in August of 2005 on Clarkston Campus of GPC A replication of a very successful early college model in Portland, Oregon, targeting HS students who have not been successful in traditional classrooms so far Part of Bill & Melinda Gates Early College Initiative with start-up funds from Portland Community College (Gates Foundation Intermediary) Students take GPC college classes and earn college credits and HS diploma credits simultaneously to complete their HS diploma.

Gateway Student Population

Demographics

         81.3% African American 1.9% Latino 55.1% Males 44% Females Avg. Age 17 20% Dropped Out 20% Not Attending Classes Regularly 35% Not scheduled to graduate on time 60% First Generation College

Living Situations Both Parents 28% Independent 4% Foster Care 7% Homeless 7% Relative/ Guard 9% Single Parent 45%

Stop # 3: Georgia Perimeter College

UPDATE:

Traveler #2 Roadblocks: Failed MATH 1111 Became a father Had to increase work hours

Foundation Semester

      Literature Writing Math College Survival Students must earn grades of “C” or better to transition into mainstream college classes  Students take the COMPASS near the end of this first semester

Transition/Continuing Students

 Students transition to the Comprehensive Campus  Students take GPC college classes and earn college credits and HS diploma credits simultaneously to complete their HS diploma Classes are plugged in according to unmet HS graduation requirements

GtCA Student Support

• Head Resource Specialist Ms. Jade Holley Resource Specialist Staff Ms. LeKesia Dix Mr. Carl Glisson Mr. Kevin Scott  Students work with an assigned “Resource Specialist” (counselor) throughout their time in the Academy  Student to Counselor ratio is approximately 30:1  Resource Specialist have weekly contact with their students in individual and/or group counseling sessions  Instruct College Survival and Career Development classes  Work closely with DCSD Student Support Services  Provides a range of services including:       Counseling Advisement Resource Referral Career Planning Mediation Advocacy

Two Categories of Students

 Foundation Students Students take the following courses during the foundation semester: Literature Writing Math College Survival   Students must earn grades of “C” or better to transition into mainstream college classes Students take college placement exams near the end of this first semester    Continuing Students After the Foundation Semester, students transition to the Comprehensive Campus. Students take GPC college classes and earn college credits and HS diploma credits simultaneously to complete their HS diploma

Additional Supports: “It takes a village”

 African American Male Initiative  Access to college wide services  Leadership Academy  GPC Access Programs: TRIO, Upward Bound  GEAP: GPC Educational Achievement Program

Additional Supports: “It takes a village”

 African American Male Initiative  Access to college wide services  Leadership Academy  GPC Access Programs: TRIO, Upward Bound  GEAP: GPC Educational Achievement Program

Funding Sources

Funding

 First two years K-12 FTE dollars obtained as a DeKalb County school   DECA: First Two Years GTCA: Non-Accel Courses  ACCEL as managed by GA Student Finance Commission

Associated Costs for Programs

      College Student Fees College Textbooks Extraneous Fees: i.e. Science Lab Fee Transportation Summer School Lunch

GtCA: How are the students progressing?

Accomplishments      58 Graduates 87 Students Enrolled  22 Foundation  65 Transition/ Continuing 13% 4 yr. College/Univ.

38% 2 yr. Technical College 22.6 Avg. College Credits Earned per student Growing Edges  Retention  Graduation  Growth

DECA: How are the students progressing?

Accomplishments

      4 graduating classes Earning over 6,823 credit hours 93% graduation rate Named GA School of Excellence by GADOE Highest Performing Reward School for a Title I school Began offering 11 grade classes for students who are not successful at GPC (Safety Net) th and 12 th

Growing Edges

 Retention  Financial Stains  Textbook Grant  Specialized Support

Two Paths; One Journey

     

Traveler 1

2011 DECA HS Grad   55 college credit hours 2.65 college gpa Stayed at GPC to complete the remaining credits for a major in Engineering Joined Airforce , 2 semesters off for Basic training Back at GPC taking engineering and computer science courses 85 earned hours, a 2.3 college gpa TAG Agreement with Kennesaw

Traveler 2

 2009 GtCA Graduate  2011 GPC Graduate  2013 CSU Graduate

Travel Agents

DECA

Kathy Hall, Program Coordinator 678-891-3452 [email protected]

Tara G. Boddie, Ed.S

Head Counselor [email protected]

 678-875-2427 (Direct)  678-875-2402 (Main)

Gateway to College

Jade Holley, Head Resource Specialist 678-891-3216 [email protected]

http://depts.gpc.edu/~gpcgway/ www.gpc.edu