Read the formal letter of closure here.

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The National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC) announced its newest publication, Building Roads to Success: Key Considerations for Communities and States Reconnecting Youth to Education (February 2011).

Download the PDF.

Building Roads to Success includes a series of briefs designed to assist community and state leaders, youth advocates, educators, and other stakeholders interested in improving and expanding education options for struggling students and out-of-school youth. It is relevant to the work of municipal government, community-based organizations, school districts, postsecondary institutions, workforce development organizations, apprenticeship programs, and other youth-serving organizations. It is equally geared toward the work of governors’ offices and state policymakers, departments of education, youth advocates, and workforce boards. Specific topics covered include:

• State & Local Policy
• Cross-System Collaboration
• Data Collection and Use
• Building Capacity
• Fundin

Building Roads to Success provides background on each area to help local- and state-level stakeholders think about where to start, how to assess how their community or state is doing, and how to improve or expand upon work already under way. AHSI, Communities in Schools, Gateway to College, National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education, and Families, and Our Piece of the Pie are among the examples of promising and successful programs, policies, and initiatives that are referenced. More in-depth resources are available on the NYEC website.

For Immediate Release

Report: Significant Decline in Number of “Dropout Factories” – U.S. Schools Where Just 60% or Fewer Students Graduate America’s Promise Alliance joins business, government, education and child advocacy leaders to announce plans of ending the high school dropout crisis

Washington, D.C. – A report released today by America’s Promise Alliance, Civic Enterprises and Johns Hopkins University’s Everyone Graduates Center provides some of the first positive signs that America is making progress in reducing a nationwide crisis in the number of students who drop out of high school. The number of high schools where 40 percent or more of the students fail to graduate fell significantly from 2002 to 2008, according to analysis of the most recent government data.

Nationwide, the number of “dropout factory” high schools fell by 13 percent – from 2,007 in 2002 to 1,746 in 2008. Experts say targeting these high schools for improvement is a critical part of turning around the nation’s dropout rate. While these schools represent a small fraction of all public high schools in America, they account for about half of all high school dropouts each year.

“Public schools are showing improvement thanks to reforms and other efforts that have been put in place, but we need to dramatically increase the pace of progress,” said Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education. “No principal, school board, teachers’ union or mayor can resolve a community’s dropout crisis alone. It takes everyone working together to make progress every year and build on success.”

Education leaders say that the new report, Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic, shows progress is possible, even among schools in lower-income, urban and rural districts that many previously thought hopeless. The report was released by Gen. Colin Powell, USA (Ret.), founding chair, America’s Promise Alliance (the Alliance) and Alma J. Powell, the Alliance’s current chair. It was written by Civic Enterprises and the Everyone Graduates Center. The report’s lead sponsor is Target, along with sponsorship from AT&T and Pearson Foundation.

In March of this year, with the support of President Obama and Sec. Duncan, the Alliance and its more than 450 national partners launched Grad Nation—a multi-year campaign to mobilize Americans to end the national dropout crisis.

“America still faces a dropout crisis, but this report shows why there is reason to be hopeful,” said Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO, America’s Promise Alliance. “Certain communities have made big progress in a short time, and they can share their lessons with others. But, the major discovery in the report is that when administrators, teachers, community officials, state governments, parents and business leaders work together, schools can be transformed.”

Earlier this year, President Obama and Sec. Duncan called for 90 percent of U.S. students to graduate from high school and complete at least one year of post-secondary education or training by 2020. Nationwide, the U.S. graduation rate increased from 72 percent in 2002 to 75 percent in 2008.

“States and communities that made breakthrough progress serve as a challenge to those that have not improved,” said Dr. Robert Balfanz, co-director of the Everyone Graduates Center. “While 400,000 fewer students are attending dropout factory schools, 2.2 million students are still in these schools.”

Other findings of the report released today include:

Most of the decline in “dropout factory” schools – 216 of the 261 – occurred in the South.

• In Texas, the number of dropout factory high schools dropped by 77. Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee all dropped by 20 or more schools.
• Tennessee and Texas saw a decline in the number of dropout factories across all locales – cities, suburbs, towns and rural areas – indicating that improvement is possible in any type of community.

Twenty-two states had a decline of dropout factory high schools in urban areas, led by Texas, New York, Louisiana, Illinois, New Jersey, Florida, Wisconsin and Tennessee.

Tennessee and New York led the nation by boosting graduation rates 15 and 10 percentage points, respectively.

• Ten additional states, including Alabama, had gains larger than the national average – ranging from about four to seven percentage points.

More than half of all states – 29 in total – increased statewide graduation rates substantially from 2002 to 2008.

• Just three states lost ground in the percentage of high school students graduating from 2002 to 2008 – Arizona, Utah and Nevada.
• The graduation rate held fairly steady in the remaining 18 states.

The report highlights four case studies of success—Tennessee; Alabama; Richmond, Indiana; and New York City. Common elements of success include: strong leadership with clear graduation rate goals; multi-sector collaboration guided by data; commitment to innovation and continuous improvement; technical assistance for evidence-based solutions; and raising expectations, improving policies and increasing student supports.

Just as Secretary of State George C. Marshall launched a plan to rebuild Europe after World War II, this idea has been adopted to transform the lowest performing schools in our education system. The idea of a Civic Marshall Plan was developed earlier this year as a result of a roundtable hosted by the Pearson Foundation. To that end, the Alliance, Civic Enterprises, Everyone Graduates Center and a council of leading organizations today announced significant commitments to develop and advance the Civic Marshall Plan to build a Grad Nation. In March 2011, a progress report to the nation will be issued.

“Ending the dropout crisis is within reach,” said John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic Enterprises. “We now know why students drop out and what can keep them on track. With better data and accountability across schools and states, the spread of early warning systems, unprecedented federal support to transform dropout factories, and nonprofits mobilizing more boots on the ground to support students, we can keep more young people on the path to success.”

Researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data (CCD) of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Researchers used two indicators to determine students’ progress through high school – the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR) and promoting power, both calculated from grade-level enrollment numbers and, in the case of AFGR, district-level data on the number of diplomas awarded.

About the Funders

Target, the report’s lead sponsor, has a long-standing commitment to education which focuses on helping kids learn and schools teach, ultimately paving a path to graduation. Since 1962, Target has committed 5% of its income to support communities and in September 2010, Target pledged an additional $500 million by the end of 2015 to support education, for a total of more than $1 billion. A significant portion of this giving will fund programs and partnerships that help more U.S. children reach one of the most critical milestones on the path to graduation—reading proficiently by the end of third grade.

AT&T is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. Launched in April 2008, AT&T Aspire, a $100 million program, is one of the largest-ever corporate commitments specifically focused on confronting the high school dropout crisis to help ensure our students graduate prepared for the future challenges of continuing education and the workforce.

The Pearson Foundation aims to make a difference and find workable solutions to the educational disadvantages facing millions of young people and adults across the globe by promoting literacy, education leadership, youth engagement and teaching quality.

America’s Promise Alliance is the nation’s largest partnership organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth by raising awareness, supporting communities, and engaging in nonpartisan advocacy. Through our Grad Nation campaign, we harness the collective power of our partner network to mobilize Americans to end the high school dropout crisis and prepare young people for college and the 21st century workforce. Building on the legacy of our Founding Chairman General Colin Powell, the Alliance believes the success of our young people is grounded in the Five Promises – caring adults; safe places; a healthy start; an effective education; and opportunities to help others. For more information about America’s Promise Alliance, visit www.americaspromise.org.

Civic Enterprises is a public policy development firm created to inform issues of importance to the nation. Civic Enterprises issued the report, The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts and other reports on the dropout challenge and was a co-leader of the National Summit on America’s Silent Epidemic, prompting further action at the national, state and local levels. For more information about Civic Enterprises, visit www.civicenterprises.net.

The Everyone Graduates Center, part of the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University, seeks to identify the barriers to high school graduation, develop strategic solutions to overcoming these barriers and build local capacity to implement and sustain the solutions so that all students graduate prepared for adult success. For more information about Everyone Graduates Center, visit www.every1graduates.org.

By Dana Hunsinger, Indianapolis Star

Indianapolis
Jamie Pittman is used to conducting job interviews. She’s the director of nursing at The Indiana Heart Hospital.

But on this day, as she asked a young man that classic interview question, “Tell me about a time you made a mistake and what you learned from it,” the answer was a shocker.

“I learned to never smoke again. You know, that one substance?” Johnny Thomas admitted sheepishly.

“That’s probably not a good answer,” Pittman told him. “Maybe another example?”

“Stealing,” he replied. “When I was 10 years old.”

“Well,” Pittman said, “that’s better.”

Better because on this particular day, Pittman wasn’t looking to hire a nurse. She was hoping to change someone’s future — trying not only to help the young man have a better shot at landing a job in the mall, but in doing so, increasing the odds that he will graduate from high school.

Pittman is a volunteer who twice a month takes a break from her busy workday to mentor at-risk students. She also is a perfect example of what the Marion County Commission on Youth believes is especially needed in Indianapolis — an intensive commitment by employers and the business community to do their part to combat the city’s startling high school dropout rate.

To push that goal, the commission on youth recently launched I Care, an initiative aimed at reaching out to businesses to encourage volunteering and support for education.

“For most people, unless they have a child dropping out of school or struggling with school, it’s an invisible issue,” said John Brandon, president of the Marion County Commission on Youth. “But we are looking at businesses to say, ‘Hey, these are your future customers and employees. You better believe it matters to you.’ ”

It matters to Pittman, who leaves her job twice a month and drives to the McKenzie Center on Shadeland Avenue to mentor. Pittman’s commitment is to the Diploma Plus program, in which she works with students on everything from how to fill out a job application and dress for an interview to why it’s important to stay in school even if you’ve just found out you’re pregnant.

Thomas, who is a 20-year-old high school senior and father, with a second baby on the way, happened to be going on a job interview the next day. He was excited about landing a spot at a men’s clothing store in Castleton Square Mall.

Pittman knows that if he gets that job, it may bring that surge of pride and responsibility that will, in turn, keep him working hard at school, too.

“It’s worth it,” said Pittman. “This is our future.”

And if things don’t change soon, it could be a bleak future, not only for students but also for employers and taxpayers.

In 2009, the graduation rate in Indianapolis Public Schools was 48.6 percent. Statewide, just 78 percent graduate, according to the Indiana Department of Education.

“There are 6,000 to 7,000 young people a year in Marion County who drop out of school,” said Brandon. “Start adding that number up and it gets pretty scary.”

Scary because it directly affects businesses and the economy in numerous ways, including:

Decreased qualified hiring pools. Statistics show that when the baby boomer generation retires, there will not be enough people with even the high-school level skills to fill those jobs.

Increased crime rates. Beyond the burden on society, paying for additional law enforcement is often a burden on businesses in the form of increased taxes.

Increased unemployment rates. A vast number of dropouts are currently unemployed.

Decreased disposable income. When individuals are uneducated and unemployed, they have little money to spend to support local businesses and the economy.

Companies statewide, by just doing a little bit, could make a huge difference, Brandon said.

“It’s not necessary to start all kinds of new programs,” he said. “We’ve got plenty of things out there. People just have to get involved.”

For businesses, that doesn’t always mean volunteering inside schools. There can be donations, pro bono work and funding, as well.

State Farm, for example, is funding the I Care initiative and has held several dropout-prevention summits statewide, regionally and at the city level. The price tag for all of that over the past couple of years is about $160,000.

In addition, State Farm gives employees one paid educational day each year to work inside a school. The company even helps employees receive substitute teaching licenses; then, if they plan ahead, they are allowed to substitute-teach instead of work.

“They get paid just like they are at work because we want them to be in the classroom,” said Jim Slaven, community relations specialist for State Farm.

The idea is that instead of having someone else simply watching the kids, State Farm employees will be able to keep that lesson plan going.

“We, as a business, have to think not about today — we have to think about our future,” Slaven said. “We’d like to see other businesses do the same thing. Then as a business community, we are helping ourselves.”

And not just in obvious ways. When a company allows employees to volunteer, it also helps combat turnover.

“It gives employees a real sense of servanthood,” said Daniel McQuiston, chairman of the department of marketing and management at Butler University. “It attaches employees to organizations in a good way. They say, ‘Gosh. I work for a company that allows me to do that. This company cares.’ ”

Take Rocki Howard, who works for Adecco Recruitment Process Outsourcing Group. Her company allows her to volunteer for multiple organizations focused on children.

“I’m lucky,” said Howard, who serves on a career services advisory board at Butler University and as chair of the Marion County Commission on Youth.

But not everyone has to serve on boards, Howard said, or make major commitments to make a difference.

“If we all took a step, if we all committed even four hours a year to say … ‘I’m going to teach a kid that a high school education is a must; it’s not even an option’ — if we all did that, what a difference we could make.”

Howard’s passion in fighting the high school dropout rate comes, in part, because she also fears major employee shortages even within the next few years.

“It’s going to cost employers big-time, and it could cost us all jobs. Because if they can’t fill jobs, what do they do? They outsource, and then we start to lose jobs permanently.”

Howard believes businesses can help not only by going into high schools, but also by starting even earlier.

After all, a child just doesn’t wake up one day in high school and decide to drop out. It’s a process that starts early.

Business owner Harold Patrick believes that a difference can be made starting on day one at school. That’s why Patrick, a Marco’s Pizza franchisee, partners with elementary schools frequently.

One of those programs is a fundraiser in which empty pizza boxes are brought to school and kids are able to decorate them.

That evening, pizzas are delivered to the children’s homes — in the boxes they decorated.

“Can you imagine how proud?” Patrick said. “You’ve got to engage the kids early.”

Businesses have to start reaching beyond their own walls, he said, and into the community.

“We have to really begin to just think about how each of us can take what we do, our talents, our jobs, and utilize them for the common good,” he said. “We have the opportunity to help mold that next generation of leadership.”

Pittman is doing just that, even if she doesn’t realize it.

As Thomas slung his backpack over his arms, he praised his mentor for what she teaches him.

He was well-spoken and positive. He talked about how he wanted to be an electronic systems technician after high school.

“With this, I learn a lot. Like what to look for in life,” said Thomas. “You get stuff off your chest. You feel better.”

And sometimes, he said, that’s all it takes to be able to go back into class and focus on learning.

See the original article here.

The National Alternative Education Association (NAEA) will host its 2011 National Conference on Alternative Education and Annual Meeting of its Membership February 9-12, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. AHSI is pleased to be collaborating with the NAEA on this conference, providing workshops for the Dropout Prevention & Multiple Pathways track.

View the Conference Flyer

Learn more about the conference, including how to register, at the NAEA Conference Website

The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) will host a webinar to highlight the work of the Association for High School Innovation (AHSI), a collaboration of education providers and advocates that works to create pathways and expand options to future success for all youth. Over the past seven years, AHSI members have engaged in a variety of efforts at the state and local level to create and sustain the development of education options to ensure all students graduate.

The webinar will feature the AHSI partnership in Newark, NJ to expand options and ensure more students graduate. Panelists will address how the place-based partnership with AHSI advances improved education alternatives in Newark and informed the district’s overall secondary reform strategy.

To learn more about the speakers and how to register for this webinar please click here.

By Jason Thomas
Posted: September 6, 2010

Travis Laminack arrived in Indianapolis in March, 17 credits shy of a high school diploma.

With the economy still in recovery mode, Laminack knew the importance of having a diploma when joining the work force.

His research led him to a new charter school that not only offers a high school diploma but the opportunity to enroll in college courses.

“It was very important that I get my diploma instead of just a GED,” said Laminack, 18, who dropped out of a Goodyear, Ariz., high school in February. “This program allows me to do that.”

The Excel Center, which opens Tuesday, is the only charter school in Indiana that serves high school dropouts or students who might drop out before obtaining their diploma, according to state education officials.

It also is unique in other ways: The school operates more like a college campus than a traditional high school. Students — many of whom are single parents or have a job — attend classes when their schedules permit, such as evenings or on Saturdays.

While the school targets 18-to-22-year olds, students in the inaugural class of about 300 range in age from 16 to the mid-50s — all with their own story to tell on how life got in the way of education.

Officials with Goodwill Education Initiatives, a nonprofit branch of Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, decided to open the school after noticing that many of the more than 2,300 people in their own work force lacked diplomas.

The need is dire: Indianapolis Public Schools’ graduation rate last year hovered at 49 percent.

“We’re in the business of serving people,” said Scott Bess, chief operating officer of Goodwill Education Initiatives.

“This was one of those glaring community needs that no one was in the position to serve. That’s why we started the Excel Center.”

An agreement with Ivy Tech Community College allows students to enroll in college courses — with tuition paid by Goodwill — while working toward a high school diploma.

“It’s all about giving people traction,” Bess said. “We want them to say, ‘I can get my diploma and have three or four (college) classes under my belt, then I’m good. Now I can do the rest on my own. I have a start.’ ”

The school fills about a 90,000-square-foot space on Michigan Street, just west of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, that was the original Metropolitan High School, also a charter school that Goodwill began in 2004. That school now occupies a different space in the same building.

“The Excel Center is a great example of the type of nontraditional, innovative model we need to dramatically increase the number of young adults who graduate high school and enter college or the work force with the skills they need,” state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett said in an e-mail.

Officials were unsure what to expect when they began the chartering process in May and set the enrollment mark at 200 students. By June, “things exploded on us,” said Bess, forcing officials to reset enrollment at 300 students after receiving more than 800 applications.

Names were drawn in a lottery to create the center’s first class.

“They already made a choice to drop out. Now they’ve made a choice to come back,” Bess said. “They have taken the first important step. We will provide support and all the things that go with it. We think our success rate is going to be pretty good, recognizing some will fade away.”

That support includes five life coaches who will work with students individually and in teams in which students are grouped with peers with similar life circumstances.

“We’re looking to build relationships with our students through that coach, through that team,” Bess said. “If a student doesn’t show up, a coach can ask, ‘What’s going on?’ ”

Courses also are available online, and students can check out laptops from the school.

Officials plan to open five satellite campuses around Indianapolis next year.

The appeal for Laminack, who lives on the Far Northside, was how Excel “was individualized to people’s needs,” he said. “If there was an issue with my schedule, they had no problem fixing it. They seemed so concerned with making it easier for me to graduate and accomplish my goals.”

Bess knows students will begin classes with good intentions and “life will again get in the way.”

But he’s looking forward to the first graduation ceremony, which could come as early as this fall, as some students are only a few credits shy of earning a diploma.

“We’ll do as many graduation ceremonies during the year that we need to do,” Bess said. “If we have to do one a month, we’ll do one a month.”

Additional Facts

About the center:

• The Excel Center, 1635 W. Michigan St., provides adults the opportunity and support to earn a high school diploma and begin post-secondary education at Ivy Tech Community College.
• The center is operated by Goodwill Education Initiatives, established by Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana in 2004, and is a mayor-sponsored public charter school.
• Anyone who has dropped out and wants to earn a high school diploma can apply to enroll. The Excel Center is open to all adults and is targeted to students 18 to 22.
• The center will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

For more information, go to www.theexcelcenter.org or call (317) 524-4141.

By the numbers:

• 300: Enrollment for the center’s first class.
• 820: Number of applications the center received.
• 7: Number of full-time teachers.
• 5: Number of life coaches.
• $500,000: Total of two federal grants (one for planning and one for implementation) applied for by the center.
• $1 million: Total of in-kind donations by Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana to start the school.

OPP runs Opportunity High School in Hartford, the first partnership school in Connecticut. Opportunity High School is a small, academically rigorous diploma-granting high school that combines the unique skills and expertise of OPP and Hartford Public Schools, the two partners. This and other programs OPP offers are stellar examples of high quality alternatives to traditional high school that enable students who have been struggling academically to graduate high school prepared for college, careers, and promising futures.

AHSI conducted its first New Member Application Process April – May of 2010; next year’s new member application process will occur in April 2011.

Learn more about Our Piece of the Pie.