WYOMING DROPOUT PREVENTION FORUM

Cheyenne, Wyoming

February 22, 2010

Hosted by Wyoming Association of Secondary Schools Principals (WASSP)

in Partnership with America’s Promise Alliance

and with Additional Sponsorship and Support by State Farm Insurance

GATHERING AND INTRODUCTIONS: 

Tony Anson, President of WASSP, welcomed everyone on behalf of WASSP, America’s Promise Alliance, and State Farm.  He noted that this was the second dropout prevention forum. He summarized the problem:  Wyoming has a graduation rate of 74-79%, which means that we are losing a quarter of the kids to dropout.  Every dollar spent on dropout prevention saves $13 on costs to society.  The increased earnings of a graduate go back into the economy.

Forum participants introduced themselves.  Approximately 35 individuals participated in all or part of the forum.  They included teachers, principals, school law enforcement personnel, school board members, Wyoming Education Association (WEA) representatives, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and business representatives.

REMARKS BY DR. JIM McBRIDE:

Anson asked Superintendent of Public Instruction Jim McBride to speak to the group.  McBride reflected on how lucky we are in Wyoming compared to areas with much higher dropout rates (60% in Los Angeles and 75% in Detroit) and layoffs of teachers (3,000 in Arizona).  Wyoming should not take a budget cut on education or have to effect layoffs.  McBride applauded the WEA for being at today’s forum.  He said that the Wyoming Department of Education holds monthly meetings and has developed a strategic plan that has been endorsed by many groups. The important thing is to stay focussed on the welfare of the kids. 

He acknowledged the efforts of Mary Garland and the Ellbogen Foundation in their strong support of early literacy.  He said that he feels every kid who is not proficient in literacy (PAWS) should go to summer school.  The Department of Education has success curricula online.

The Wyoming legislative session is under way.  The legislature is starting on the budget; McBride said that there should be no surprises.  He noted that one legislative bill would remove writing from PAWS, which he feels is a mistake.  He thinks we should wait for changes to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law.  He noted that a 14-page document with Wyoming’s requests for NCLB changes will be on the Department of Education’s web site.  He added that national standards are being developed.  Another legislative bill would require parental consent before a student could drop out at age 16.

McBride closed by talking about the evolution of the economy and family:  kids are not living with their “original” parents, moms are not staying home with kids, the family unit has deteriorated, and the economy has deteriorated.  Schools are being asked to do more -- providing breakfast and lunch, providing clothes and doing laundry, and providing medical care -- but getting no credit for what we are doing.  McBride encouraged forum participants to contact him; this can be accomplished by clicking on his picture on the web site.

VIDEO:

The Summit participants watched a video produced by America’s Promise Alliance.  Every 26 seconds a student drops out, which adds up to a million every year.  This results in a lifetime of limitations.  General and Mrs. Colin Powell talked about this catastrophe, which affects everyone.  They stressed the importance of motivating students and demanding more of them. They said that graduation from high school is the number-one predictor of future success.  Solutions are needed that involve the family, school, and community.  The investment will reap enormous dividends. 

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said that students need choices.  A representative from the National Urban League noted that better-paying jobs require a diploma; funds allocated to dropout prevention should not be viewed as spending but as an investment.  Senator Ted Kennedy said that potential dropouts show signs as early as sixth grade.  Many corporate and institutional sponsors were listed as supporting America’s Promise Alliance.

Students offered a number of comments:  They are not getting real-world knowledge.  No one cared.  Only sports kept one student in school, and then he was cut from the basketball team. The curriculum did not address diverse cultures.  High school did not prepare students to apply for jobs.  Students will face an uphill battle their whole lives if they do not finish high school.  One student said that getting a high school diploma was the biggest moment in that student’s life. Without a diploma a young person will end up working at a minimum-wage job or a fast-food establishment.

DR. JAMES COPPLE:

Anson noted that there are five promises inherent in America’s Promise Alliance [these are 1) caring adults, 2) safe places, 3) healthy start, 4) effective education, and 5) opportunities to help others].  Participants in the forum need to try to come up with something to address the five promises.  Copple’s presentation was intended to assist the group in their deliberations.  Anson introduced Copple, who has an extensive background with schools and various organizations. Copple has a business called Strategic Applications International.  He has served as a school superintendent and a principal at various schools.

Copple said that he was pleased and excited to be here and it is great to see the state working on these issues.  He said that he would look at specific strategies.  As reflected in the minutes of the October 2009 forum, one dropout is too many.  Copple urged the group to take the thinking from the October summit and look at practical, controllable things.  Poverty, racism, and system issues are too big to solve, but some simple interventions are possible.  This is about relationships. Copple referred to The Silent Epidemic from the Gates Foundation.

Copple noted that education is an entire process by which a culture expresses itself.  Kids get education in multiple places.  It is important to assure that a school is not an island.  The more we connect to the community, the more successful we are at keeping kids in school. 

Copple talked about the SBIT concept:  Screening-Brief Intervention-Treatment.  He urged employers to get involved by asking simple questions.  A businessperson can ask a student how school is going and then tell someone at the school if there appears to be a problem.  That enables simple intervention.  It is important to look at comprehensive ways to engage.

Copple gave a PowerPoint presentation:

Bring me the horizon:  A lot of the things we have done historically regarding dropout prevention have not worked.  We are dealing with individuals.  Some kids are bored with school and feel it is not relevant.  Not all of this is the schools’ fault, but we can solve problems.  The business community has noted lack of preparedness.  We need to acknowledge the role of global education and the environment:  kids think globally.

Transformed by engagement:  Focus on the assets kids bring.  Recognize that there is some sliver of hope for transformation in each student.  Schools need to be for kids.

Goals for this session:  How schools, teachers, and administrators can examine the systems, structures, and processes we create to ensure academic and social success for all students.

There is no such thing as a school dropout:  Students are forced out in a number of ways. Recognize every child’s name and attach him/her to an adult.

Paradigm shift:  The shift is from the school (institution) to the learner/student (agent with the potential to learn).

Isn’t one too many?

What do we bring to this process as a community?  Dialogue is needed.

What we know:  We know how to engage.  Be aware of early warning signals.  Literacy and math skills -- by the third grade -- are huge indicators of future success.

Important research:  It is important for a student to be connected to a parent or a school-based person.  The most significant risk factor for a kid is unsupervised time.  It is important to keep kids busy and have an adult present or nearby at activities.  Mentoring programs work. Attachment to an adult is important.  Disruption in the family and breakdown of the traditional family are the reality.  We should not give up but should develop interventions.

FIVE RESILIENCES:

Much of the day was spent discussing and working on activities relating to five resiliences presented by Copple.  He said that if we give kids these five things we win.

1.Hope:

Copple said that hope or faith is what gives a student a reason to get up in the morning. Faith is a value system.

Specific activities identified during the first small group breakout included the following: programs that are currently operating, peer advocates, “I Can”, and athletics.

The second small group breakout came up with strategies/programs that should be expanded:  A) There are programs -- and we need more -- that place a significant adult in each child’s life.  These can be nonacademic staff members and adults.  B) Create short-term goals; implement shadowing and career programs.  C) Keep it simple.  Teach people to say, “Hi.”  Focus on outcomes.  D) Encourage the whole community to raise kids; have a way for students to fit into the community.  Provide a range of choices.  Students need to know expectations.  Provide information and training on how to be successful -- practical skills such as how to make monetary change and how to balance a checkbook. The needs of advanced placement (AP) students need to be addressed, too.

2.Significant Adults:

Copple said that an adult can be a parent, grandparent, coach, custodian, cook, pastor, employer, law enforcement officer, etc.  Multiple voices are important.  Adults need to get engaged.

Specific activities identified during the first small group breakout included the following: mentors/coaches, getting every student involved in an advising program, and community services officers.

The second small group breakout came up with strategies/programs that should be expanded:  A) Build collective capacities and business partnerships.  B) Have a senior project where the student finds an outside expert.  C) Partner with community college (adult) students.  Have the community bring a problem to the school.  The teacher would take the problem and look at the standards.  Kids would report back to community members. D) Go outside the district.  Use the Internet.  Think outside the school box.  Beat the brush a little more -- maybe go door to door -- to increase parent involvement.

3.Acquired Skills:

Copple said that students should develop skills that they can celebrate, e.g., athletics, photography, etc.

Specific activities identified during the first small group breakout included the following: cooking, vocational classes, building in little successes, and celebrating small steps.

The second small group breakout came up with strategies/programs that should be expanded:  A) Rebuild the Green Club.  Involve students in recycling and acquiring new skills.  B) Have a home improvement class.  Teach students basic maintenance skills. Students can then offer to do maintenance for the community such as helping the elderly with small things.  This works especially well in a small community.  C) Focus on strength-based work.  Use testing and let students and staff know the strengths.  Develop individual learning plans (ILPs).  D) Focus on math and literacy at an early age. Focus on exploration of learning and career aspirations.

4.Locus of Control:

Copple said that it is important to give kids a voice in problem-solving.

Specific activities identified during the first small group breakout included the following: having students on school boards or committees, teaching students how to learn and practice control, and having a suggestion box and implementing suggestions.

5.Altruism:

Copple said that it is important to give kids a chance to give something back and to volunteer.

Specific activities identified during the first small group breakout included the following: working on yearly themes such as recycling and energy, having fund-raising projects for specific programs and local projects, picking up garbage around the school to improve neighborhood relations, and distinguishing between volunteer service and court-ordered service.

STUDENT PANEL: 

The participants were privileged to hear from three students from Triumph High School, which is an alternative school in Cheyenne:  The school principal introduced the students, each of whom spoke briefly before taking questions from the forum participants.

Nathaniel:  He is 20 years old.  He is very opinionated.  He started at Triumph three years ago.  His mind was not focussed.  He left for a year and a half.  He came back this year.  He is doing better.  The teachers are nice.  The classroom is nice.  It is a nice school. Students have had to adjust to a new school facility and a new principal.

Lydia:  She is 20 years old and just graduated.  She has been going to Triumph most of her teenage life. Students have had to adjust to a new school facility and a new principal. The old school was smaller.  She was into drugs.  Drugs took over.  She was sent away to treatment.  When she came back, she could not go to Triumph so she went to East and soon dropped out.  She spent her time partying.  She could not find a job.  She got pregnant and had a daughter.  That is why she went back to Triumph.  The staff are accessible.  She is trying to help other kids.  Her daughter and her best friend have motivated her to stay in school.  She graduated -- and she never thought she would graduate.  She has an anger problem.  The school staff have worked with her.

Brittany:  She is 17 years old.  She has attended Triumph for two years.  She dropped out twice.  She was into drugs.  She got pregnant.  She was labeled CHINS and ISP.  She went back to Triumph.  She made the honor roll and had perfect attendance.  Then she got dropped again due to write-ups.

Those in attendance then asked questions:

Do you have your kids in day care at the school?

Yes.  I am so glad they had this.  My daughter was close.  I could not afford day care.  (Lydia)

I had a miscarriage.  (Brittany)

Do you have career plans?

I plan to go into the military and need a GED or a high school diploma. (Nathaniel)

I would like to go to college and become a dental hygienist.  (Brittany)

We’re here to look at what we can do to improve graduation rates and decrease the dropout rate.  Why did you drop out?  How could things be done better?

Be less boring. It is a problem having no activities.  Some kids cannot sit too long. (Lydia and Nathaniel)

Triumph has educational field trips.  I loved going to Triumph.  The teachers were friends.  We need more fun in school.  We need activities rather than being required to read books.  (Lydia)

Students need to learn how to separate home from work.  Make school fun.  Think outside the box.  Ask kids what they would rather do differently. (Nathaniel)

Have you talked at other schools?

No.  (Lydia)

You say that school was not important and was boring.  Do students go just for the social life?

Since I am 20 years old, the younger kids idolize me and see me as a mentor. School can be fun.  I liked a class where the teacher let me listen to my Ipod if I was doing my work.  In other classes I was bored.  (Lydia)

Are the schools catering to one group of slick students?

Yes.  (Nathaniel)

What made you go back?

Myself -- I could not get/find a job.  I was going broke and having to sell stuff. (Nathaniel)

Do you have friends who have dropped out?  Have you tried to get them to go back? Could Triumph do something to get them back?  Do you have advice for potential dropouts?

Yes -- lots of family and friends.  I am balancing out the others and am doing it for myself.  People do what they want.  It’s their choice.  Some want to work, and some don’t.  Tell them future consequences.  Let them know they can come back.  (Nathaniel)

You can only push someone so far and give advice.  Some dropouts feel they cannot connect with teachers.  (Lydia)

Do you have a voice?

Everybody has a voice, not just a small group.  Give the school president more authority to enforce rules and translate what teachers are saying because students and teachers are saying and speaking in different ways. (Nathaniel)

I have a say.  (Lydia)

What about the old and new Triumph?

They are completely different.  One is not necessarily better.  We had more freedom at the old one.  The new one does not feel alternative anymore.  I felt more welcome at the old one.  At the old one students took drama out of the school.  (Lydia)

We have lost the family connection.  (Lydia and Nathaniel)

It is stricter now.  We are not on a first-name basis with the teachers.  There is a line you cannot cross.  At the old school there were no fights.  (Nathaniel)

Would job and life skills training be helpful?

Yes.  This would help kids go to school.  They could study for job skills. (Nathaniel)

Did you think about dropping out before you got to high school?

Yes!  (Lydia, Nathaniel, and Brittany)

School is stressful on kids.  They have demands from teachers, parents, home, and other kids.  (Nathaniel)

What kinds of things can be done for younger students?

Be on their level and give them a chance to express themselves.  (Lydia)

Don’t restrain their language.  Deal with an angry kid one on one.  Listen to them.  (Nathaniel and Lydia)

Kids are influenced by those around them.  Teachers should be open to differences and treat each student individually -- not just the class as a whole.  (Nathaniel)

Did you enjoy elementary school?

Yes!  (Lydia and Nathaniel)

What made you go to elementary school?

Parents.  (Nathaniel)

Why did you enjoy elementary school?

It was fun.  (Nathaniel and Lydia)

We had activities and groups.  We got to watch movies.  (Lydia)

The teachers were nice.  (Nathaniel)

What changed when you got to junior high?

The environment.  (Lydia and Nathaniel)

It was like going from one state to another -- two completely different environments.  (Nathaniel)

What piece of work, 6-12, are you most proud of?

Last year’s First Schools USA project, Pictures of Santa.  People showed up for pictures and pancakes.  We wrote the children’s names on Christmas bulbs and also gave out candy canes.  I also went to the COMEA shelter to feed the homeless.  Having a say in people’s lives is important.  Helping others feels good.  (Lydia)

The whole feel of Triumph.  At the old Triumph we at a Munchy Mart where kids could hang out and eat.  It was a student-run store.  The money went to school projects such as the prom.  (Nathaniel)

The leadership class at school.  Fund-raisers and after-school activities.  (Brittany)

When you are struggling, are you treated differently than other kids?

I get punished more than others.  (Brittany)

Yes.  Teachers play favorites.  Mutual respect is needed.  (Nathaniel)

Yes.  (Lydia)

Do students drop out, or are they forced out?

School or life -- something makes them not want to go.  (Nathaniel)

Teachers’ attitudes.  Students need to feel wanted.  Let them know they are important.  Make things fun.  Treat students with respect.  Recognize that some students have parent problems.  Work together.  (Lydia)

Both.  Students make choices.  But something pushes you.  (Brittany)

Kids get picked on.  Kids treat other kids badly.  (Lydia and Nathaniel)

Do you have advice on how to get kids to come forward and talk with teachers?

Students need to have someone they can trust and speak up for them.  (Lydia)

We don’t get to pick our advisors -- they are assigned, and we are stuck.  Give us a choice.  (Nathaniel)

The forum participants applauded the students.

FOLLOW-UP:

WASSP Executive Director EmmaJo Spiegelberg reminded everyone to sign up on the attendance sheets.  Summit participants will be receiving an e-mail survey from America’s Promise Alliance, and she asked everyone to please return the survey.  Within 60 days there will be a final gathering to develop the recommendations, and she encouraged everyone to participate in that meeting.  She thanked everyone.

SEVEN PRINCIPLES:

Copple reviewed seven essentials to dropout prevention:  1) Identify students early.  2) Closely examine new and existing school policies and procedures.  3) Build strong community partnerships and personalize your school.  4) Reduce social isolation.  5) Manage student transitions.  6) Create options and implement creative interventions. 7) Build parent/family relationships.

COMMITTEE CONVERSATIONS AND REPORTS:

Copple reviewed the three tiers for committee assignments.  He asked the breakout groups to look at the questions and get as concrete and specific as possible.  The groups were asked to report back and focus on things we have control over and small things that have an impact.

1.Preparation for Success: 

a.What strategies do we use for every student to prepare them to graduate?

Group recommendations:

Start earlier rather than later -- reading, writing, language, math, social studies, and science.

Career counseling -- to lower schools.

Input on recommendations:

The career counseling recommendation should be careful not to result in the limitations of the British and Asian ways of teaching.  It should take into account mobility in the United States and differing standards.  It should define what “career” means.  It cannot be limiting.  Students should have the ability to choose and change their minds.  Students do not know in fourth grade what they want to do.

Students need to interface with the real world around education.

We need to get away from thinking that “everybody needs to go to college”.  We need to value waitresses and truck drivers.  The emphasis on qualifying for the Hathaway Scholarship is leading some kids not to go to college or to leave the state for continuing education.  Vocational teachers are not valued.

b.How do we identify at-risk students in elementary, middle, and high school?

Group recommendations:

Poor attendance.

Poor grades.

Disengagement.

Elementary school teachers should be able to identify these warning signs.

c.How do we smooth transitions to help all students succeed?

Group recommendations:

Make ninth-grade sports part of 9-12.

Sixth grade is the biggest risk.

Advocacy groups.

Data warehouse.

Input on recommendations:

Should we make a recommendation to the State?

Professional training is needed.

The State Board of Education should let us have a day just for those kids (transitioning from one level to another) and count it.  This may come down to issues of funding.  Some schools handle this as a teacher in-service day:  while the teachers are getting in-service, the ninth-grade teachers work with students the day before school starts.  However, this might not work for other districts due to equity and teacher contract issues.

Perhaps we need a task force to look at systemic and institutional barriers, e.g., sixth-to-seventh and eighth-to-ninth transitions.  Since Wyoming is the only state that works on local control, perhaps the task force could identify strategies that districts could embrace, e.g., a menu of options.

We should recognize the correlation between eighth-to-ninth transition issues and dropouts.

Assign a teacher advocate or a community advocate to each at-risk student.

2.Dropout Prevention:

a.What do we do once students are identified as at-risk in elementary, middle, or high school?

b.How do we address particular at-risk factors that affect groups of students?

c.How do we change what we are doing in ninth grade to immediately assist at-risk students?

Group recommendations:

Give the Draw A Person Test at pre-K and K.

Consider the National Governors’ Association’s recommendations, including doing away with seat time.

For pre-K to 12, have home visits where the school goes out to the community.

Have before/after-school programs.  Be sensitive to who sponsors it.  These programs are most successful at pre-K to 6, less so with older students.

Have ongoing, district-based training for all.

Evaluate program participation.  Determine who actually participates in programs.

Engage people.

Have and value relationships.

Know what is happening in the classroom -- changes, expectations, things that are not fitting the program.

Know the difference between teaching and learning.

Be eternally optimistic.

Use technology; do not fight it (e.g., text a student when he/she is absent).

Have a transition process, e.g., 5/6 to 7, 8 to 9.

3.Graduation Recovery:

a.What do we do to save students who are tenth to twelfth-graders and on track to drop out?

b.How do we help students who are over-age, under-credited, or attendance-challenged stay in school?

c.How do we provide opportunities for graduation with students who cannot succeed in a traditional setting?

Group recommendations:

Be flexible and give alternative ways to earn credits.

Skills interventions.

Diagnose the problem (ILP).

Wraparound support groups (e.g., Department of Family Services, probation officers).

Assign students to teachers who meet their needs.

Provide an opportunity to front-load credits before the freshman year.

CONSENSUS/NEXT STEPS:

Copple offered the following questions, comments, and observations:

Who is responsible for implementation?  (Anson suggested compiling recommendations and presenting them to the State for the strategic action plan.  The plan calls for increasing the graduation rate 1% per year until it reaches 85%.)

Who else needs to be here?  (Copple suggested parents, students, businesses, the faith community, and social services.)

What is the strategy?

Who can be a champion?  (Copple suggested intentionally identifying a champion outside of the school system -- a leader in the state to be a voice, to broker, to mediate, and to facilitate -- perhaps a businessman, a former politician, or a celebrity.  Forum participants noted that Mike Ceballos of Qwest is heavily invested in the America’s Promise Alliance undertaking in Wyoming as is Garland of the Ellbogen Foundation.)

WRAP-UP:

Copple closed by offering a couple observations:  1) The dropout issue has been with us since Colonial education.  The American is by nature experimental.  2) You must finish what you start. We are in a long race on dropout prevention, and it is unclear where the finish line is.  Be diligent and flexible.  This is about relationships.

Anson thanked Copple and the forum participants for their time and energy.  Anson said that information from the forum would be available at wassp.org.  We have champions among us -- Garland, Ken Griffith of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), and WASSP.  We will take our thoughts forward with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and State Board of Education.

Sharon Breitweiser

Recording Secretary

1. 1.Graduation Recovery (Tier 3)
   

A.  What do we do to save students who are 10th to 12th graders and on track to drop out?

a.Be flexible and give them alternative ways to earn credits such as on-line, summer school, flexible scheduling, different venue, Saturday school, night school, fall and winter Bridges (credit recovery)

b.Chance to earn credits through work experiences, shadowing

c.Skills interventions (such as reading comprehension)

d.Computerized learning center for credit recovery

e.Diagnose the problem, then put in place an ILP

f.Wrap around group support and intervention, communicate information for all those who need to know

g.Provide differentiated instruction training to teachers, assign students to teachers who meet their needs

h.Provide activities-based learning opportunities with real-world connections

i.Chance to frontload credits during the summer before freshmen year

j.Do not allow freshmen to fail

B. How do we help students who are over-age, under-credited, or attendance-challenged stay in school?

a.Transitions program to allow multiple entry points

b.Offer opportunities to earn one to two credits at a time

c.Find a hook to get them back on campus, even part time

d.Providing daycare

e.Night school or flexible scheduling hours

f.Find appropriate interventions for drug/alcohol abuse, eating disorders, depression, etc.

C.How do we provide opportunities for graduation with students who cannot succeed in a traditional setting?

a.MSU it—make stuff up.  Be flexible in your thinking.

b.Use an alternative setting

c.Make sure we tell kids it’s ok to come back

d.Partner with other schools or institutions to get kids credits or a safe venue

e.Take concurrent credits with a college

f.Use Job Corps that have diploma programs

7. g.Provide early graduation or graduation anytime they can complete