Dropping Out of School is Not an Option : Strategies to Engage Students with Disabilities

1. JEANNE B. REPETTO, PH.D. UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA JREPETTO@COE.UFL.EDU Dropping Out of School is Not an Option: Strategies to Engage Students with Disabilities

2. …And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country – and this country needs and values the talents of every American. … Remarks of President BarackObama – As Prepared for DeliveryAddress to Joint Session of CongressTuesday, February 24th, 2009

3. State need to address indicators related to dropout rates among students with disabilities and develop performance plans. 1997 and 2004 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)

4. FOUR TRANSITION INDICATORS • Indicator 1: The percent of youth with IEPs graduating from high school with a regular diploma compared to percent of all youth in the state graduating with a regular diploma. • Indicator 2: The percent of youth with IEPs dropping out of high school compared to the percent of all youth in the state dropping out of high school.

5. INDICATORS CON’T • Indicator 13: The percent of youth aged 16 and above with an IEP that includes coordinated, measurable, annual IEP goals and transition services that will reasonably enable the child to meet the postsecondary goals. • Indicator 14: The percent of youth who had IEPs, are no longer in secondary school and who have been competitively employed, enrolled in some type of postsecondary school, or both, within one year of leaving high school.

6. Data Sources: National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) U.S Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Funded Programs National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) National Longitudinal Transition Study – (NLTS2) Dropout rates for students with disabilities

7. Indicator 2 ReportJune, 2008(NDPC-SD) • Highest Special Education Dropout Rate for 2006-07 was 33.6%

8. Dropout Rates for Students with Disabilities2004-05(NCES) • Overall – 28% • LD – 27% • MR – 25% • ED – 48%

9. High School Completion by Federal Category - 2003(NLTS-2) • All – 72% (17*) • Visual Impairment – 95% (9) • Learning Disability – 75 % (18) • Mental Retardation – 72% (21) • Emotional Disturbance -56% (16) *percentage-point change since 1987

10. NLTS –2 Youth a few weeks to 2 years out of school Student outcomes

11. Postschool for Students with Disabilities

12. Reasons for Leaving School

13. NLTS • NLTS • High absenteeism • Course failure • Older than grade level-peers • Disciplinary problems • NLTS2 • Dislike of school • Poor relationships with teachers and students • Household income $25,000 or less • Gender and race/ethnicity not a factor • 15-17 years old

14. Comparison of LD and MR Students Who Did and Did Not Dropout(Dunn, Chambers & Rabren, 2006) • Predictors • Disability status • Finding a helpful person • Finding a helpful class • Thinking school is preparing them for future

15. Young Adults with Disabilities Views(Kortering & Braziel, 1999) • 64% would return to school if • They changed their work attitude and habits • Retrieval programs are available • What changes might have kept them in school • Their attitude and effort • School attendance policies • Teacher behavior • Disciplinary policy • Peers

16. Dropouts with LD with earned GED or in Adult Education Programs(Scanlon & Mellard, 2002) • Less satisfactory levels of academic achievement

17. School Characteristics(Christle, Jolivette & Nelson, 2007) • Rate of school attendance • Occurrence of undesirable student behavior • Rate of successful transition to postschool experiences • School climate • Physical condition of the schools • Family involvement • Opportunities in the community • Characteristics and behaviors of teaching staff

18. Additional Factors • Number of school-initiated interruptions • School transfers • Family intactness • Disciplinary problems • Low academic achievement • Repeating grades • Lack of evidence that school personnel care • Not satisfied about self • Lack of supports to keep up with content classes

20. Promising Practices

21. Transition Connect • Self-determination • Interagency collaboration • Career development • Individualized transition planning • Family involvement • Vocational/technical education • Community experiences • Supports for postsecondary education

22. Climate • Provide positive and safe learning environments • Set a climate of caring • Set high but reasonable academic and social expectations • Facilitate opportunities for success • Implement comprehensive not fragmented reform with teacher and administrative support • Offer courses and activities geared to student needs and interests (Christle, Jolivette & Nelson, 2007)

23. Locust of Control Control • Self-determination • Cognitive Behavioral Interventions (CBI) (Cobb et al, 2006) • Cognitive Strategy Instruction (CSI)

24. Effective Instructional Strategies Curriculum • Active engagement (both student and teacher time on task) • Successful experiences (social and academic) • Opportunities to learn (cover content) • Grouping for instruction (different type of groups for different learning activities) • Scaffolding instruction (move student towards independence)

25. Effective Instructional Strategies Curriculum • Vary forms of knowledge (declarative, procedural & conditional) • Help students organize, store and retrieve knowledge • Teach strategically (teach “how to learn” strategies) • Use explicit instruction • Teach sameness (Bost & Riccomini, 2006)

26. Care • Value students’ perception of their school experience. • Use students’ perception for counseling and program planning. • Assist students’ to connect school and future needs. • Understand the impact on their students’ perceptions and their completion of school. (Dunn, Chambers & Rabren, 2006)

27. Recommendations

28. Speculation(Bear, Kortering & Braziel, 2006) • Individual Education Program (IEP) is a tool to address the individual reasons students with disabilities dropout and allow for student input. • Key to school completion may not be academic skill level but rather the ability to apply the skills. • Homework completion • Class attendance • Compliance to school rules

29. IES Recommendations • Utilize Data Systems (low*) • Assign Adult Advocates (moderate) • Provide Academic Supports (moderate) • Provide Targeted Social and Behavior Interventions (moderate) • Personalize Learning Environment (moderate) • Provide Rigorous and Relevant Instruction (moderate) • * level of evidence • (IES, 2008)

30. Some Thoughts • Provide course to teach how to be successful in online courses • Vary assignments, groupings and modes of learning in courses • Connect content to real world and what students need once they leave school • Use mentors or some form of individual contact with students • Offer teacher support/course to ensure use effective teaching strategies in courses

31. Resources • Bear, G., Kortering, L., & Braziel, P. (206). School completers and noncompleters with learning disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 27 (5), 293-300. • Bost, L., & Riccomini, P. (2006). Effective instruction: An inconspicuous strategy for dropout prevention. Remedial and Special Education, 27(5), 301-311. • Christle, C., Jolivette, K., & Nelson, M. (2007). School characteristics related to high school dropout rates. Remedial and Special Education, 28 (6), 325-339. • Cobb, B., Sample, P., Alwell, M., & Johns, N. (2006). Cognitive-behavioral Interventions, dropout, and youth with disabilities: A systematic review. Remedial and Special Education, 27 (5), 259-275.

32. Resources • Dunn, C., Chambers, D., & Rabren, K. (2006). Variables affecting students’ decision to drop out of school. Remedial and Special Education, 27 (5), 314-323. • Facts from NLTS@: High School Completion by Youth with Disabilities (November 2005). Menlo Park, CA: SRI International. Available at www.nlts2.org/fact_sheet_2005_11.pf. • Kortering, L., & Braziel, P. (1999). School droupout from the perspective of former students: Implications for secondary special education programs. Remedial and Special Education, 20, 78-83. • IES (2008). Dropout Prevention. Author • Scanlon, D., & Mellard, D. (2002). Academic and participation profiles of school-age dropouts with and without disabilities. Exceptional Children, 68 (2), 239-258.

33. Centers • National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC) • National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD)