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Strategies to improve attendance and promote college and career readiness for at-risk youth. Explore school-based approaches, mentoring programs, contextual learning, and community engagement.
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New Beginnings: Strategies for At Risk Youth March 27, 2019
Dropouts in school year 2017-2018 5,408 Grade 9: 1,317 Grade 11: 1,330 Grade 10: 1,254 Grade 12: 1,507
Attendance Matters High Attendance Low Attendance
Chronic Absenteeism The typical student in Massachusetts misses 9 days of school (5%) each year. However, 12.8% of MA students miss 10% or more days of school each year.
Post Secondary Success • Definition of college and career readiness: An individual has the requisite knowledge, skills and experiences in the academic, personal/social and workplace readiness domains to successfully navigate to completion an economically viable career pathway and engage in informed and effective civic and democratic life. • Focus on: Academic achievement, personal social skill development and workplace readiness training opportunities • Need all three domains for success • Need to address all aspects of the student’s life
Improve Attendance • Involve whole school in attendance campaign • Attendance Review Teams: part of another team or create new and regularly review data for early identification and intervention • Implement tiered system of supports • Remove barriers to attendance • Provide teachers with resources and strategies so they can help improve attendance • Develop ways to involve the community
SCHOOL BASED STRATEGIES • My Career and Academic Plan (MyCAP - formerly ILP) Student-directed process of self-discovery and academic, college and career planning that leads to a unique personalized path towards post-secondary success. As an instrument MyCAP captures the learning and documents the achievements of learning objectives at each grade level. • Promote student ownership of their future • Use an online tool (Naviance, MassCIS, MEFA Pathways)to provide opportunities for self-assessments, college and career search engines, employment information, resume building, goal setting, etc. • Store artifacts of learning (act as an e-portfolio) • All students participate
SCHOOL BASED STRATEGIES • College and Career Advising (CCA)Framework CCA is the systematic implementation of a framework in which schools can build a scope and sequence of learning objectives focused on the three domains of college and career readiness – personal social, career development and academic achievement - that are needed for success after high school. Best practices: • Whole-school program • Scope and sequence created by a team including a counselor, administrator and at least one teacher (or two with one being a specialist- SPED, ELL, etc.) • Counselor-led but not sole responsibility - some activities can be implemented by other school staff- within core content, in advisory programs, etc. • ALL students participate
SCHOOL BASED STRATEGIES • Adult Advocates: Ensuring every student has a caring adult in the building, often seen as mentors, graduation coach, advisor, etc. • Internal Success Mentors: School staff including teachers, coaches, office staff, etc. • External Success Mentors: School partners including after school providers, tutors, nearby businesses • Peer-to-Peer Success Mentors: Upper classmen for 9th graders; 8th graders for 6th • College Success Mentors: Partner with local college to provide internship opportunity for credit for college students in social work, counseling, or education majors
SCHOOL BASED STRATEGIES • Contextual Learning Opportunities: Contextual learning occurs when teachers relate subject matter to real world situations. Students are motivated to make connections between knowledge and its applications to their lives as family members, citizens, and workers. Examples include: • Service Learning: integrates community service with academic study to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities • Work-based Learning: provides students with real-life work experiences where they can apply academic and technical skills and develop their employability; can be as an internship, apprenticeship, • Project Based Learning: a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex question, problem, or challenge.
Parent, Family and Community Engagement • When schools, parents, families, and communities work together to support learning, students tend to earn higher grades, attend school more regularly, stay in school longer, and enroll in higher level programs. What to do: • Survey educators and families to determine needs, interests, and ideas about partnering • Provide professional development on family and community engagement for school faculties • Provide opportunities for parents to learn: about the school, about requirements, about policies and about any forms to be filled out • Provide school-community liaisons who know the communities’ history, language, and cultural background and to contact parents and coordinate support efforts
Parent, Family and Community Engagement • Ensure timely access to information, using effective communications tools that address various family structures and are translated into languages that parents/families understand • Involve the community and invite agencies and businesses to partner with you for the success of the students • Develop home visiting program • Create realistic opportunities for parent involvement in school activities – during the school day, after school, evenings, weekends and vacations
CLIMATE AND CULTURE Feeling safe – socially, emotionally, intellectually and physically- is a fundamental human need. Feeling safe in schools powerfully promotes student learning and healthy development. (Devine and Cohen, 2007) • Culture is enhanced by positive, respectful and supportive relationships as well as by active, attentive and visible presence of caring adults. • Positive climate fosters student engagement and principles of positive youth development • Student voice is welcome and expected for all aspects of the program
Attleboro Public Schools Summer Transition to High School The goal of the program is to help students accelerate their academic skills over the summer, build relationships, and form meaningful connections to the High School which will support a smooth transition into school in August.
Students Served • The grade 8 target population is students that have received a warning or needs improvement on the MCAS, lack motivation, have poor attendance, are struggling academically, socially and/or emotionally in school, and need to form a meaningful connection to school. • EWIS data, classroom teacher, coaches, adjustment counselor, ELL/McKinney Vento and Title I Coordinators and the 5-8 SPED Coordinator recommendations are used to ensure that all students that are at risk will be invited to participate in the summer program. • Usually, 180 students are invited and about 35 attend.
Relationship Building Parents Program Staffing Community Building Team Work
Program Features • Qualified/certified staff • 2 Math • 2 ELA • 2 Team Building / Study Skills • 1 Paraprofessional • receive paid individual and common planning time before and during the programs. • Program runs for 3 weeks, Monday – Thursday from 9-12. All of the students are engaged, moving and learning • The program is held in air-conditioned rooms at Attleboro High School • Transportation is provided both ways for the students that are eligible for it. • 3 concentrated learning communities that focus on Reading & Writing, Math, and Study Skills/ Team Building activities.
Engaging High Interest Activities Reading & Writing Math Communication & Problem Solving
Successes to Date • Parent/student contract – students followed what was outlined in the contract 95% of the time • Small group instruction with engaging hands-on standards based activities and qualified staff • Relationship building between students and teachers • Parent/student meetings – 90-95% attendance • 99% student attendance rate • Team building activities, along with positive interaction and participation • During the parent meeting on the last day, video of the students showing what they have learned and experienced.
Challenges to Date • How can we keep all students engaged in their learning and connect their learning with real life situations that mean something to them in their current lives/situations? • How can we ensure that teachers keep the students engaged and understand the meaning of project based learning that excites students and makes them want to learn?
Advice for Other Districts • Required parent meeting on the first day of the program is very effective. All parents and students hear the goals of the program and the anticipated outcomes at the same time. All families hear, read and sign the parent/student contract that lays out all of the expectations and the consequences. • Having a parent/student meeting on the last day has been beneficial for families. Having staff from the High School talk to all the families about the different supports, programs and people that are available to help their children. • Team Building activities • Video shows student participation, cooperation, determination, happiness, and confidence
Boston Day and Evening Academy • Seminar Program
Sample: Competency-Based Education, BDEA vs. Traditional Model
Path of a BDEA Student Application, Lottery, Information Session Community-building, skill refresh, build habits of success Seminar Entry Orientation Continuing on the Roadmap Overview of school model/culture, placement tests Trimester System, achieve competencies, final capstone
Seminar: Key Design Elements SEL Skill Development Planning for Academic Success Students are prepared for success at BDEA • Building community • Learning (or deepening) skills related to how to be a student • Understanding competency-based education • Identifying SEL needs • Build confidence Intentional and overt community-building Equip students with tools to independently move successfully through roadmap Co-designed and built by entire department, based on what students need throughout roadmap • Skill refreshing • Diagnostics to calibrate placement on roadmap • Identifying academic needs (interventions, etc.)
Our Learnings • Anecdotally, attendance of students in seminar improved immensely (pre-to-post 2010) • Building community in a competency-based model is tricky: seminar creates “cohorts” • Need to build “through line” of seminar elements throughout roadmap • Need systems to institutionalize knowledge
