Transcript Dropout prevention for students with disabilities

Dropout Prevention for Students
with Disabilities: Evidence-based
Programs that Work
National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities
Clemson University
Oklahoma Transition Institute
June 26, 2007
© 2007 Clemson University – All rights reserved
Session Focus
Background
A way to begin examining the issue in
your school
Some strategies that work
Existing evidence-based programs
Key Concepts in Understanding
Dropout
Dropping out of school is a process of
disengagement that begins early.
Engaging students in school and learning is key
in preventing dropout and keeping kids in school
(participation, identification, social bonding,
personal investment in learning).
A promising approach to improving school
completion is to enhance students’ connection
with school and facilitate their success in
school—i.e. give them support in what you want
them to do!
Key Concepts in Understanding
Dropout
 Push effects – situations or experiences within
the school environment that contribute to
feelings of alienation, failure and dropout (e.g.,
raising standards without providing supports,
suspension, negative school climate, poor
policies and procedures)
 Pull effects – factors external to the school
environment that weaken or detract from the
importance of school completion (e.g., peers,
pregnancy, need to work to support family)
Risk Factors
Alterable variables associated with dropout
Low school engagement
High rates of absenteeism
Poor grades and course failure
Low test scores
Negative attitudes toward school
Low participation in extracurricular activities
Grade retention
Low parental involvement
Address Alterable Variables
School-level alterable variables associated with
school completion for students with disabilities
(Wagner, Blackorby & Hebeler, 1993)
 Providing direct, individualized tutoring and
support to complete homework assignments
 Providing support to attend class, and stay
focused on school
 Participation in vocational education classes
 Participation in community-based work
experience programs and training for
competitive employment
Student Engagement in
School and Learning
Engagement is a multi-dimensional construct
involving associated indicators and facilitators
(Christenson, 2002)
 Academic (homework completion, on-task)
 Behavioral (attendance, participation)
 Cognitive (relevance of education to future)
 Psychological (sense of belonging)
Let’s Summarize
 Certain groups of students are at greater risk of
dropping out than their peers (e.g., students with
disabilities (particularly LD & SED) and low SES).
 There are both pull and push factors that contribute to
school dropout.
 There are alterable and status variables associated with
dropping out of school. Alterable variables have
predictability and are addressable.
 Improvement efforts work best when systemically
designed to focus on alterable variables.
Things ARE Getting Better
Graduation & Dropout Rates
1993-94 through 2004-05
60
40
Graduated
30
Dropped out
20
10
0
19
93
-9
19 4
94
-9
19 5
95
-9
19 6
96
-9
19 7
97
-9
19 8
98
19 -99
99
-2
00
20 0
00
-0
20 1
01
-0
20 2
02
-0
20 3
03
-0
20 4
04
-0
5
Percent
50
School year
17.8% decrease in dropout rates
11% increase in graduation rates
Source of Data used in this graph: www.IDEAdata.org Retrieved on 2/12/2007.
Use of Evidence-Based Practices
Forty-one states/territories (68%) listed one or
more evidence-based improvement activities in
their APR for 2005-2006, while the remaining 19
states (32%) did not propose any evidencebased improvement activities.
This is an improvement over last year’s State
Performance Plans, in which only 32 states listed
evidence-based activities.
What Happens Next?
Where do we start?
What data sets do we need to review to identify
our needs?
What programs do we know that are evidence
based (i.e., have solid proof that they work)?
Which of these programs have the greatest
impact on kids like ours?
What populations should we focus on first?
At what level should the intervention(s) focus?
NDPC-SD Dropout Prevention
Intervention Framework
Phase 1: Analyze Data
District and school demographics
Student performance (graduation,
dropout, course completion, AYP)
District/school infrastructure
Assessment, curriculum, and
instructional systems
Current initiatives and partnerships
Professional development
Parent/family engagement
Phase 2: Identify Target Areas for
Intervention
Academic content and instruction (reading,
math, science, writing)
Behavior (classroom management, behavior
support)
Attendance and truancy prevention
School climate
Self management (self determination,
problem solving)
Mentoring (employment, service learning)
Family engagement
Phase 3: Develop
Improvement Plan
Selected evidence-based practices (e.g., Check
& Connect, Positive Behavior Support, Cognitive
Behavior Interventions, Content Enhancements)
Determine level of intensity (Universal, Selected,
Targeted)
Contextualize to setting
Establish timelines
Phase 4: Implement, Monitor,
and Evaluate
Conduct baseline measures
Implement strategies: on-site coaching,
consultation & feedback, progress
monitoring, fidelity checks
Measure results
Evaluate outcomes
Celebrate success!
Disseminate
NDPC-SD Dropout Prevention
Intervention Framework
Strategies at the Local Level
Provide flexibility in school programs
Allow high-school students to engage in
relevant learning by enrolling in a 4-year or
community college, a technical career center,
or to be meaningfully employed, while the
high school continues to count (and pay for)
the student as a full-day student
Allow students in such academic programs to
earn high-school AND college credit
concurrently
Strategies at the Local Level
Start a credit recovery program for students to
make up credits that they are missing or failed
to receive in a timely manner.
Instead of retaining a child in elementary school,
provide early intervention and intense
remediation. Retention often begins the path to
dropout.
Strategies at the Local Level
Develop reading and math labs where struggling
students can keep from falling behind in their
courses.
Review discipline policies addressing suspension
and expulsion. Make expulsion a rare event.
Offer in-school alternatives to suspension.
Start school-wide behavior programs in middleand high schools.
Examine feeder-school patterns in areas of high
dropout and intervene early.
Strategies at the Local Level
Standardize grading systems so they match
among neighboring schools (e.g., what grade
constitutes passing/failing)
Improve curriculum and instruction so all
students receive the same high-quality
learning opportunities.
Provide wrap-around services. Academics
aren’t the only reasons that kids drop out.
Listen to what the students say. They know
what they want out of school!
Recommendations for
Administrators
Monitor dropout-related data regularly
Review and, as needed, revise local
policies and procedures to support school
completion
Ensure that professional development
addresses system, staff and student needs
Enlist parents, businesses, local agencies,
and the community in general to support
school completion
Interventions That Work
What Works
Interventions that focus on student
engagement
Interventions that occur over time, usually
months or years
Interventions that involve a family or parent
component
Interventions that are strength based and
involve a variety of contexts (E.g., focus on
protective factors such as student resiliency
and self-determination both at school and at
home)
Effective Interventions
(Cobb, 2005)
Cognitive Behavioral Interventions (CBI)
Curriculum training in problem solving, selfinstruction and situation self-awareness,
including mentoring, teacher and peer
modeling
Are equally effective with younger and
older adolescents and in schools as well as
in residential and day treatment centers
Effective Interventions
(Cobb, 2005)
Applied Behavioral Analytic Interventions
(ABA)
Are designed to help students learn;
frequency and intensity of interventions are
increased in order to reach optimum
learning; response cost interventions
Programs focused on behaviors that lead
to adolescents exiting school early
(voluntary and involuntary)
Effective Interventions
(Cobb, 2005)
Counseling/Therapeutic Interventions
Individual, group, family, and psychoeducational counseling along with vocational
education; behavioral contracts, social skills
training, individual psychotherapy, and wraparound services
Counseling programs embedded within
the school that generalized to all of the
students’ environments, especially for
students with emotional disorders
Conclusions
(Cobb, 2005)
FINDINGS
 Cognitive-behavioral Interventions – (YES)
 Appears best for high-incidence disabilities
 Applied Behavior Analytic Interventions – (Cautious Yes)
 Appears useful to reduce verbally and physically aggressive
behavior and both high and low incidence disabilities
 Counseling Interventions – (No Judgment Can Be Made)
 Appears useful specifically for students with emotional disorders
Dropout Intervention Models
Intervention
Program/Strategy
Intervention
Description
Achievement for
Latinos through
Academic Success
(ALAS)
A collaborative approach involving the
student, family, school, and community.
Strategies include problem-solving training,
coaching, attendance monitoring, increased
feedback to parents, parent training in school
participation, and increased awareness and
use of community resources.
 dropout
 absenteeism
 on track to graduate
 credit accumulation
 achievement
Career Academics
Employs a combination of career and
academic training for students considered atrisk. The focus of career academies varies
(e.g., health, technology).
 grade point average
 attendance
 credits earned
 retention
 courses passed
Check & Connect
Promotes student engagement via a
monitor/mentor who maintains regular
contact with the student, family, and
teachers. Students receive basic or intensive
interventions based on monitoring risk
factors.
 student engagement
 credit load
 enrollment status
 assignment completion
 on track to graduate
Coca Cola Valued Youth
Program
Helps to build the self-esteem and selfconcept of at-risk youth by giving them the
responsibility of being tutors to younger
children.
Outcome
Variables
 reading grades
 self-esteem
 attitude/school
 self-concept
 dropout
Dropout Intervention Models
Intervention
Program/Strategy
Intervention
Description
Project COFFEE
Offers individualized instruction through an
alternative occupational education program.
Addresses the academic, social, emotional,
and occupational needs of students at risk
for dropout.
 attendance
 grade point average
 dropout
School Transitional
Environment Project
(STEP)
Intended to help students during the
transition period from one school to another.
Alters the environment of the school,
modifies the role of the homeroom teacher,
and works to enhance communication
between home and school.
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Support Center for
Adolescent Mothers
(Family Growth Center)
Created for first-time mothers to decrease
dropout and discourage repeat teen
pregnancies. Incorporates a significant
community component.
Teen Outreach Program
(TOP)
Designed to prevent dropout and teen
pregnancy through volunteer and educational
experiences and discussion of life-skills topics
using the Teen Outreach Curriculum.
Outcome
Variables
dropout
grade point average
absenteeism
academic environment
 dropout
 pregnancy

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


suspension
dropout
pregnancy
problem behaviors
course failure
Contact Information
Matthew Klare, Ph.D.
[email protected]
NDPC-SD
209 Martin Street
Clemson, SC 29631
Phone: (864) 656-1253
Fax: (864) 656-0136
www.ndpc-sd.org