Strategies to Help Solve Our School Dropout Problem


Book Description

This book will help you reduce the number of young adults who leave school without completing a high school program. These successfully proven strategies were identified through research conducted by The National Dropout Prevention Center at Clemson University. The strategies are: - EARLY INTERVENTIONS - Family Involvement... reach out to all families - Early Childhood Education... begin positive learning environments early - Reading and Writing Programs... establish this foundation to all learning THE BASIC CORE STRATEGIES - Mentoring/Tutoring... increase competency with a supportive adult or peer - Service Learning... implement academic learning connected to service - Alternative Schooling... provide options beyond the traditional setting - Out-of-School Enhancement... develop after-care, summer school, and extended hours MAKING THE MOST OF INSTRUCTION - Professional Development... provide resources & training for innovative, research-based techniques - Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences... implement proven methods for a diverse student population - Instructional Technologies... integrate technology into daily curriculum - Individualized Learning... provide customized work plans for each student MAKING THE MOST OF THE WIDER COMMUNITY - Systemic Renewal... change rules, roles, and relationships to effect school improvement - Community Collaboration... engage businesses and organizations - Career Education and Workforce Readiness... provide applied training and instruction for today's workplace - Conflict Resolution and Violence Prevention... teach the strategies of fair engagement and safety




Dropping Out of School


Book Description




Helping Students Graduate


Book Description

This book describes the fifteen strategies identified through research reviewed by The National Dropout Prevention Center and Network at Clemson University. Each chapter in this book was written by a nationally recognized authority in that field. Research has shown that these 15 strategies have been successfully implemented in all school levels from K - 12 in rural, suburban, and urban centers; as stand-alone programs or as part of systemic school improvement plans. Helping Students Graduate: A Strategic Approach to Dropout Prevention also covers No Child Left Behind and its effects on dropout rates; Dealing with Hispanic dropouts; Differences and similarities between rural and urban dropouts. These fifteen strategies have been adopted by the U.S. Department of Education. They are applicable to all students, including students with disabilities.




Breaking Ranks


Book Description

This definitive study offers numerous recommendations for reforming and enhancing American schools -- from curriculum to diversity and student-based learning to school governance.




Understanding Dropouts


Book Description

The role played by testing in the nation's public school system has been increasing steadily-and growing more complicated-for more than 20 years. The Committee on Educational Excellence and Testing Equity (CEETE) was formed to monitor the effects of education reform, particularly testing, on students at risk for academic failure because of poverty, lack of proficiency in English, disability, or membership in population subgroups that have been educationally disadvantaged. The committee recognizes the important potential benefits of standards-based reforms and of test results in revealing the impact of reform efforts on these students. The committee also recognizes the valuable role graduation tests can potentially play in making requirements concrete, in increasing the value of a diploma, and in motivating students and educators alike to work to higher standards. At the same time, educational testing is a complicated endeavor, that reality can fall far short of the model, and that testing cannot by itself provide the desired benefits. If testing is improperly used, it can have negative effects, such as encouraging school leaving, that can hit disadvantaged students hardest. The committee was concerned that the recent proliferation of high school exit examinations could have the unintended effect of increasing dropout rates among students whose rates are already far higher than the average, and has taken a close look at what is known about influences on dropout behavior and at the available data on dropouts and school completion.




Champions of Change


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Dropping Out


Book Description

The vast majority of kids in the developed world finish high school—but not in the United States. More than a million kids drop out every year, around 7,000 a day, and the numbers are rising. Dropping Out offers a comprehensive overview by one of the country’s leading experts, and provides answers to fundamental questions: Who drops out, and why? What happens to them when they do? How can we prevent at-risk kids from short-circuiting their futures? Students start disengaging long before they get to high school, and the consequences are severe—not just for individuals but for the larger society and economy. Dropouts never catch up with high school graduates on any measure. They are less likely to find work at all, and more likely to live in poverty, commit crimes, and suffer health problems. Even life expectancy for dropouts is shorter by seven years than for those who earn a diploma. Rumberger advocates targeting the most vulnerable students as far back as the early elementary grades. And he levels sharp criticism at the conventional definition of success as readiness for college. He argues that high schools must offer all students what they need to succeed in the workplace and independent adult life. A more flexible and practical definition of achievement—one in which a high school education does not simply qualify you for more school—can make school make sense to young people. And maybe keep them there.