Identifying Root Causes of High Student Drop-Out Rates in Eaton County

1. Identifying Root Causes of High Student Drop-Out Rates in Eaton County A Proposed Consensus Approach to Problem Solving

2. THE PROBLEM • Every day nearly 7,000 students become drop-outs nationally. • That’s 1,200,000 students every year who will not receive high school diplomas.

3. THE IMPACT • The average drop-out will earn almost $10,000 less a year than a high school graduate. • If all 2008 drop-outs had graduated, the nation’s economy would have seen an additional $319 BILLION over their lifetimes.

4. IN MICHIGAN… • Approximately 20,000 Michigan students drop out of school every year. • That’s more than one every 30 minutes.

5. Eaton County – a snapshot • Population: 105,632 (2005) • Per capita income: $27,748 (2002) • Area: 576 square miles • Population 25 and over: 67,044 • Number of high school graduates (includes equivalency): 20,361 • Some college, or associate's degree:25,106 • Bachelor's degree: 9,908 • Master's, professional or doctorate degree 4,652

6. NOT A NEW PROBLEM… • The Daily News (Iron Mountain): High cost of dropouts (editorial) • The Detroit News: Michigan says 25% don’t graduate • Traverse City Record-Eagle: TC high schools fail to meet standards • The Mining Journal, Marquette: Educators address dropout issue • The Saginaw News: Reasons students drop out • The Michigan Business Beat: Government Affairs Director Ed Sarpolus talks about the dropout crisis and how it affects small business and unemployment • Detroit News: Solutions to state's dropout crisis sought • Detroit News editorial: Better guidance will prevent students from dropping out

7. …just one that has not yet been solved.

8. WHAT WE DO KNOW… Success in school and in life begins with leadership. YOU are those leaders.

9. THE SDD PROCESS –Structured Dialogic Design Through the Cogniscope II SDD Process we will answer the question: “What factors contribute to the drop-out rate in Eaton County?” * * * Through a structured system of dialogue and consensus building, we can identify and prioritize the factors at the root of the drop-out problem.

10. THE PROCESS - Details During the process, stakeholders will participate in face-to-face and virtual discussions, during which they will: • Generate perceived inhibitors • Classify inhibitors into groups • Prioritize the inhibitors • And “map” them to determine the true root cause(s) of the problem

11. KMT (Knowledge Management Team) The KMT is responsible for facilitating the structured dialogue process. Its role is only to facilitate and not to interfere with the content of the complex issue. Only you, the stakeholders, generate and evaluate content.Our role is to create an environment where you don't have to take notes; you don't have to worry about logistics; you only focus on your ideas and thinking. • Aleco Christakis, Ph.D. • Gayle Underwood, MA • Linda Heard, MA • Tess King

12. Outcomes • Recommend corrective actions that would reduce drop out rates for students • To build a shared understanding of the most influential factors that contribute to drop out rates • To improve graduation rates creating productive and successful citizens in Eaton County

13. By Harnessing Collective Wisdom… …Eaton County stakeholders can begin to develop programs that will directly impact the problem. Together.

14. Eaton County School Districts Charlotte Public Schools http://www.charlottenet.org/ Grand Ledge Public Schools http://www.glps.k12.mi.us/ Eaton Rapids Public Schools http://www.erps.k12.mi.us/ Potterville Public Schools http://scnc.pps.k12.mi.us/ Maple Valley Public Schools http://www.mvs.k12.mi.us/

15. Bibliography • http://www.cherrycommission.org/resources.htm • http://www.mea.org/dropouts/ • www.all4ed.org • http://lcctraining.wikispaces.com/file/view/Discovering+Root+Cause+Factors+for+Drop+out+Rate+Evart.pdf • http://lcctraining.wikispaces.com/file/view/FlintFinalReport.pdf • www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin