Affecting the End From the Beginning Helping your Students Reach Graduation

1. Affecting the End From the Beginning Helping your Students Reach Graduation

2. Why talk about it?? Not completing High School affects: • Employment Options • Increased Crime Rates • 75% state prison inmates • 59% federal prison inmates • 3.5 times more likely to go to prison • Cost to Society • Can save 1.4 billion annually in crime related costs

3. When do they drop out?? • 3% do not complete 4th grade • 20% drop out by the 8th grade • Nearly 66 % leave before the tenth grade

4. Top 5 Reasons

5. The Common Thread TEACHERS

6. The Teacher-Student Relationship Directly Affects Academic Performance

7. Strengthen Student-Parent-Teacher Ties Build Parental Support: • Host a school party • Solicit parent-mentors • Contact parents for positive reasons • Address ‘Early Warning Signs’ with parents

8. StrengthenStudent-Parent-Teacher Ties Building Student-to-Student Support • Club or interest group participation • Sports involvement within the school setting • Peer support groups, such as study groups • Contractual support; students agree in writing to help keep each other on track to graduation.

9. Be Informed on Alternative Routes to Graduation • Drop out Prevention Programs They differ from traditional educational programs in their scheduling, administrative structure, philosophy and curriculum setting. They employ alternative teaching methodologies, curricula, and assessment activities in order to meet the interest, talents and needs of qualifying students.

10. Alternative Routes 2. Academic Programs These help with remediation, support learning, other than tutoring, such as computer labs; academic skills enhancement programs that use instructional methods designed to increase student engagement in the learning process and hence increase their academic performance and bonding to school (e.g., cooperative learning techniques and “experiential learning” strategies); includes homework assistance and tutoring.

11. Alternative Routes 3. Behavioral Programs These improve the behavioral and social skills of students so they can be successful in the regular school environment and to reduce and eliminate discipline referrals.

12. Alternative Routes 4. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Programs These provide academic and behavioral services to students that are place in the Department of Juvenile Justice for violation of laws or while on probation. They include prevention programs, detention services and day treatment programs.

13. Alternative Routes 5. Teen Parenting Programs These offer parenting skills training; financial management training; other types of training and/or services to assist teen parents in staying in school and developing a family life; includes pre-post natal care as well as provision of child care for children of teen parents while they attend programs, schools, etc.

14. Alternative Routes 6. Substance Abuse Programs These provide counseling and referral services to students that are abusing alcohol or drugs.

15. Alternative Routes 7. Attendance and Truancy Services These promote regular school attendance through one or more strategies including an increase in parental involvement, the participation of law enforcement, the use of mentors, court alternatives, or other related strategies.

16. Life-Skills Training Help your students develop: • self-respect, • self-discipline, • self-esteem, and • self-confidence.

17. Self-respect: - I will show consideration to myself and others.

18. Model self-respect and respect for others Activity: In the classroom, when a student is misbehaving still speak respectfully to that student. Call the student out in the hallway to talk to you, but still speak respectfully to that student.

19. Self-discipline • I will choose to do the things necessary to achieve the goals I set

20. Activity: • Start all your students with an ‘A’ and • A clear chart of expectations • Allow students to re-do their work

21. Self-esteem: • I am a person of value

22. Review Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs • Help them understand their own needs which in turn • Helps them understand themselves and why at times they have very strong desires for acceptance, belonging, achievement, entertainment, etc. • Then explain that they have choices in how they address these needs.

23. Maslow’s Hierarchy • Physical – food, water, shelter • Safety – warmth, avoiding harm, being healthy • Social – belonging to a group and feeling loved • Ego – ways to increase our self-respect • Self-fulfillment – nurture your talents, learn just for the fun of learning, help other people, invent, create, follow your dreams

24. Self-confidence: • I am not afraid to try new things. • I believe in my ability to work things out.

25. Help your student understand that they can choose to succeed. Activity: • “I can’t….” • “I have to…”

26. Prepare Prepare for a New Beginning • Develop a list of things you will do to strengthen ties with parents and between students. • Contact your area’s Alternative School offices and get specific information on who qualifies for their programs and on how to refer. • Plan specific activities to build your students' self-respect, self-discipline, self-esteem, and self-confidence.

27. Be the teacher who made the difference by: • Creating a relational support system • Navigating alternative schooling options • Teaching life-skills to each of • your students.

28. References Bridgeland, J.M., Jr. Dilulio, J .J., &Morison, K. B. (2006). The silent epidemic. A perspective of high school dropouts. Retrieved from http://www.civicenterprises.net/pdfs/thesilentepidemic3-06.pdf Dropout Prevention and Recovery website: www.aypf.org/projects/briefs/DropoutPreventionRecovery.htm School Dropouts: New Information About an Old Problem. ERIC Digest website: http://www.ericdigests.org/1996-2/dropouts.html

29. References continued U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). The Condition of Education 2009 (NCES 2009-081)