Transcript Slide 1

BIE: Dropout Prevention Initiative:
“Graduation for All”
A Collaboration with the National Dropout Prevention Center
for Students with Disabilities, an OSEP funded TA&D Center
Dr. Sandra Covington Smith
Dr. Marilyn Johnson
Sue Bement
BIE Special Education Academy
September, 2011
Tampa, FL
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National Dropout Prevention Center for
Students with Disabilities
A national specialty center funded by OSEP
to support states in increasing school
completion rates for students with
disabilities
First funded by OSEP in January 2004
Re-funded by OSEP in January 2009
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NDPC-SD Assists States in…
• Identifying evidence-based dropout
prevention interventions, programs, and
practices
• Producing evidence-based knowledge that is
useful to school practitioners
• Providing targeted technical assistance to
states in a variety of formats
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Risk Factors
Education, Sociology, and Economics
 Demographic characteristics and family
background
 Past school performance
 Personal/psychological characteristics
 Adult responsibilities
 School or neighborhood characteristics
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Risk Factors
Demographic Characteristics
 African American, American Indian/Native American,
Hispanic/Latino American
 Approximately half of African American students do not receive
diplomas with their cohort.
 Less than 50% of Native American Students graduate each year
(Faircloth & Tippeconnic, 2010).
 Native students have the highest dropout rate in the nation (Indian
Nation At Risk, 1991).
 Hispanic students are the largest minority group in our Nation’s
schools.
 Fewer than half of all Hispanic children participate in early
childhood education programs, and far too few Hispanics students
graduate from high school.
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Risk Factors
 Family Background
 Family income, SES, family involvement, families who
receive welfare, parents’ educational attainment, single
parent home, limited English proficiency, parent or sibling
dropped out
 Students from low SES families are four times more
likely to drop out than their peers from higher a SES
 Past School Performance
 Low grades, poor test scores, retention & age, disciplinary
problems, truancy, spending little time on homework
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Risk Factors
 Personal/psychological characteristics
 Commitment to schooling and ability to follow through on
this commitment, low self-esteem & locus of control, low
educational expectations or plans
 Adult responsibilities
 Employment, caring for a child
 Working >20 hr/wk positively associated with dropping out
 Pregnancy positively associated with dropping out
 School or neighborhood characteristics
 Poor neighborhoods vs. wealthier neighborhoods
 Higher in urban schools; rural; suburban
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Program Development & Support
• Promote and facilitate the implementation of evidencebased strategies that :
– Promote a positive school climate
– Increase school attendance
– Promote prosocial behaviors
– Promote academic success
– Increase family engagement
– Increase student engagement
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Understanding Dropout:
A Process of Disengagement
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Elementary School Predictors
Not an isolated event
 Elementary years, process begins
 Elevated dropout rates reported among children who were rated as highly
aggressive by their 1st grade teachers (Ensminger & Slusarcick, 1992).
 Dropouts could be distinguished from graduates with 66% accuracy by the
third grade using attendance data; and
 Identification of dropouts can be accomplished with reasonable accuracy
based on review of school performance (behavior, attendance, academics)
during the elementary years (Barrington & Hendricks, 1989) .
 Students who had repeated a grade as early as K – 4th grade were 5x
more likely to drop out of school (Kaufman & Bradby, 1992).
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Middle School Predictors of Dropout
(Balfanz & Herzog, 2005; 2006)
The four strongest predictors – determined by the
end of sixth grade
1. Poor attendance (14%)
2. Failing English
3. Poor behavior
4. Failing math
(16%)
(17%)
(21%)
Sixth graders who do not attend school regularly,
receive poor behavior marks, or fail math or English
 10% chance of graduating on time
 20% chance of graduating a year late
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Middle School Predictors of Dropout
(Balfanz & Herzog, 2005; 2006)
Students who repeat middle school grades are
11 times more likely to drop out than students
who had not repeated
A student who is retained two grades increases
their risk of dropping out of high school by 90%
(Roderick, 1995).
Transition between schools
 Middle school/junior high school to high school
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High School Predictors of Dropout
(Balfanz & Herzog, 2006)
• Students who enter ninth grade two or more
grade levels behind their peers have only a one
in two chance of being promoted to the tenth
grade on time
• Ninth grade retention is the biggest predictor of
dropouts
• The biggest fall off for students is between ninth
and tenth grade
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Graduation Rate (60 BIE high schools)
Range: 19.74% to 100%
• 4 – 90 to 100%
• 5 – 80-90%
• 7 – 70-80%
• 18 – 50-70%
• 20 – less than 50%
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Preventing Dropout:
The Process of Re-engaging Students
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Student Achievement
Association among achievement, engagement,
and school behavior
– Engaged students tend to earn higher grades,
perform better on tests, report a sense of
belonging, can set or respond to personal goals,
persist on tasks
– Engaged students perceive more support from
teachers, practitioners, and peers, which leads to
increased levels of engagement and adult support
(Furrer et al., 2006)
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The Effects of Engagement
(Finn, 1993)
School Completion = Engagement in School and
Learning
KEY ELEMENTS
1. Student Participation
2. Identification with School
3. Social Bonding
4. Personal Investment in Learning
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Types of Engagement & Associated Factors
1.Academic engagement - time on task, academically
engaged time, or credit accrual
2.Behavioral engagement - attendance, avoidance of
suspension, classroom participation, and involvement in
extracurricular activities
3.Cognitive engagement -processing academic information
or becoming a self-regulated learner
4.Psychological engagement - identification with school or a
sense of belonging
5.Social/Emotional engagement -feelings of safety and
security and expressions of support and inclusion
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Lessons Learned
What Do We Know & What Have We Learned
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LESSONS LEARNED
Causes

Problem behaviors coupled with academic difficulties or prior
academic failures are key risk factors that are predictive of
school dropout.

Repeated use of exclusionary discipline practices, such as
suspension is one of the major factors contributing to
dropout.

High absenteeism and retention are serious risk factors for
dropping out that can be monitored by schools.
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Factors that Impact School Completion
Adequate Attendance
Appropriate Social
Behaviors
Improved School
Completion Rates
Course Performance
/Academic Engagement
Effective Transition
Services
Decreased Dropout Rates
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LESSONS LEARNED
Consequences

Students who drop out are more likely to be unemployed or
under employed.

Dropouts are more likely than high school graduates to need
the support of living with parents in early adulthood,
experience health problems, engage in criminal activities, and
become dependent on welfare and other government
programs.

Three to five years after dropping out, the cumulative arrest
rate for youth with SED is 73%.
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Desired Outcomes
Increase the
transfer of
knowledge

Enhanced
understanding

Expanded
practices

Improved
capacity

Increased School
Completion
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LESSONS LEARNED
Prevention/Intervention




Establish a leadership team to
coordinate implementation of
dropout prevention efforts
Establish systems for routine
monitoring of risk indicators
associated with dropout
Create action team to analyze data
and address dropout prevention at
the local level
Intervene early, often as early as
preschool

Increase family engagement and
school involvement

Create school environments that
are inviting, safe, and supportive

Focus on effective instruction

Listen to students

Administrators are key and their
support is essential

Use proven practices
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SUCCESS FOR ALL STUDENTS
Personalized Learning
Environments
(Psychological
Engagement)
Empowered
Educators/
Academic
Success
(Academic
Engagement)
Positive
Behaviors
and
Outcomes
(Behavioral
Engagement)
Accountable
Leaders
All youth ready for
college, career,
ind. living & active
civic participation
Safety and
Security
(Social/
Emotional
Engagement)
Integrated System of High Standards,
Curriculum, Instruction, Assessments, and
Support (Cognitive Engagement)
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Lessons Learned
Recovery/Re-entry
 Some students will dropout as early as Middle School.
 As early as grade K, differences exist between graduates
and dropouts.
 Dropouts appear to exhibit differential capabilities in
comparison with graduates as early as kindergarten (e.g.,
academic deficits, absenteeism at critical stages, and
academic retention).
 It is never too late to recover a student who has exited
school informally. Case management type services should
be provided and their re-entry should be celebrated.
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Implement practical strategies to recover
students. It is never too late!
Inform
students that
they are always
welcome.
Positive
relationships will
pay off! A case
management
approach should
be considered.
Problem solving
and relationship
building
strategies remain
key as students
return.
Celebrate!
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LESSONS LEARNED
Capacity Building

Utilize a systemic approach to address dropout prevention

Conduct causal analysis

Use data to guide program development, professional
development, and other school improvement efforts

Consider multiple levels of implementation

Examine the influence of other performance indicators on
school completion

Promote and implement evidence-based practices and
strategies
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LESSONS LEARNED
Effective intervention practices +
Effective implementation practices =
Positive outcomes for youth with
disabilities
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Achieving Success:
Improving Outcomes
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Effective Leadership At the Local Level
Initiate, Support, and Maintain School Completion Initiatives
– Recognize Impetus for Change
– Design & Development of an Effective Leadership Team
– Dropout Prevention Initiative and Efforts are Vested in a Place of Authority
– Analysis of Valid and Reliable Data / Analysis of Policies and Procedures
– Professional Development, Training, and Technical Assistance
– Endorsement of Evidence-Based Practices
– Development of Early Warning Systems
– Development of An Action Plan with Concrete and Reasonable Goals and Measures
– Rolling Out Your Initiative
– Parent Engagement Implementation of Action Plan
– Community Partnerships
– Implementation Efforts (Assess, Evaluate, Maintain, Celebrate)
– Acquisition and Allocation of Adequate Resources (New & Existing)
– Sustainability and Scaling-Up & Celebrating Successes!
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Achieving student
success requires
breakthrough thinking.
However, knowledge
alone does not
translate into action.
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“We will never be able to turn the tide on
the graduation crisis in this country if we
don’t take the time to engage young
people and their counsel as part of the
solution.”
America’s Promise Alliance 2010
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BIE Dropout Prevention Committee:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Gloria Yepa, BIE DPA
Dr. Marilyn Johnson, BIE DPA
Sally Hollow Horn, BIE DPA
Sue Bement, BIE DPA
Dr. Jeff Hamley, BIE, DPA
Roxanne Brown, ADD East
Casey Sovo, ELO, NM South
Dr. Susan Faircloth, Pennsylvania State Univ.
Dr. Sandra Covington Smith, Clemson University, NDPC-SD
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Resources
BIE schools’ fundamental mission and purpose-increase the graduation rate of all students.
The NDPC-SD will provide training and technical
assistance on development and implementation of
strategies to schools (n=10) selected to participate in
the 1st cohort.
Training and technical assistance will support existing efforts to
ensure that students realize outcome of high school graduation.
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Training and Technical Assistance
NDPC-SD will provide training and technical
assistance on:
• Conducting data analysis, identifying areas for
improvement and root causes of dropout;
• Development of evidence-based dropout prevention
intervention plans;
• Implementation and measurement of dropout
correlates;
• Identification of resources; and
• Development of professional development structure.
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Participation by BIE Schools
BIE Dropout Prevention Team will select a cohort of
10 participant schools in Fall 2011.
Factors for consideration in selection of schools:
Geographic
Graduation Rate
Rate of Absenteeism
Dropout Rate
Achievement Data
Behaviors (leading to suspension
or expulsion)
Gaming tribes: per capita & no
per capita payments
Retention Rate
Readiness & willingness to
participate.
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Data Collection-Event Codes
Data on events (behaviors) is collected through
the NASIS database. Some schools have
established event codes for their use.
In order to standardize identification of events, a
glossary is being developed for use by the
schools.
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Event Category: Attendance
Events in the category related to Attendance:
• Attendance, Attendance policy violation,
Attendance violation, AWOL, AWOL (run
away), AWOL over 3 hours, AWOL under 3
hours, Cutting class, skip class, truancy,
walking out of class, leaving class without
permission, etc.
• Total Attendance events SY10-11 = 13,936
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Schedule of Activity
Date
Activity
Sept 2011
Meet w/ prospective schools at Special Education Academy
(Tampa, FL).
Oct 2011
Selection of schools for participation
Nov 2011
Begin Training of school staff
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Increase Graduation Rate
Professional
Learning
Communities
After School
Programs
Positive
Behavior
Supports
Native Star
Increase
Graduation
Rate
Reduce
Dropouts
NWEA &
MAP
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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Dr. Sandra Covington Smith
Coordinator of Technical Assistance and Training
[email protected]
Clemson University
209 Martin Street
Clemson, SC 29640
864-656-1817
www.ndpc-sd.org
© 2011 Clemson University – All rights reserved
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