Technology and Curriculum - The Pro’s and the Con’s

 

Technology has revolutionized education, nobody can deny that.  Educators have also adjusted their teaching methods in response to new technology over the years.  Gone are the “field of dreams” days when believing that simply putting computers in the classroom would automatically make a difference.  Many schools now carefully consider cost and application when debating how best to use new technology.

Although providing laptops for every K-12 student in the classroom is cost prohibitive for most districts, wireless mobile labs can be used in group projects.  Individual word processers are now also becoming more affordable was as smaller, hand held devices such as personal digital assistants that can be hot-synced to the teacher’s computer.

Pro’s of the classroom technology “gadgets” in the classroom can create what they feel is a more interesting interactive environment that students are, in many cases, already familiar with outside of school.  This varies from district to district as in the poorest communities technology is limited in school but also outside of school.  This technology gap in our communities is a direct relationship in terms of money to technology.  This gap is widening in our country is something worthy of further review.

There are several reasons why technology in the classroom can improve students achievements.  For example, computers can provide more motivation then their teachers during drilling and practice skill building.  Students in an at-risk group, such as special need students, rural and inner-city schools, feel motivated and successful when using curriculum-assisted instruction.  In addition, these types of students create visual abstract ideas which might help the student from being discouraged during difficult tasks and concepts.

When students are suing technology as a tool or a support for communicating with others, they are in an active role rather than the passive role of recipient of information transmitted by a teacher or textbook.  The student is actively making choices about how to generate, obtain, manipulate or display information.  Technology use also allows many more students to be actively thinking about information, making choices and executing skills than is typical in teacher-lecture lessons.  Moreover, when technology is used as a tool to support students in performing authentic tasks, the students are in the position of defining their goals, making design decisions and evaluating their own progress.

The teachers role changes as well.  The teacher is no longer the center of attention as the dispenser of information but rather plays the role of facilitator, setting goals and providing guidelines and support for a new activity.  The use of technology stimulates so much active mental work on the part of students.

“Kids like the immediate results.  It’s not a result that you can get anywhere else except on the computer….for them, it is really a big deal.  Much more so than I ever thought it was going to be.”

Elementary school teacher

“Technology is the ultimate carrot for student’s, it’s something they want to master.  Learning to use it enhances their self-esteem and makes them excited about coming to school.”

Fifth grade teacher

 

Another effect of technology cited by a great many student’s, is the inclination on the part of the students to work cooperatively and provide peer tutoring.  Student’s ability to collaborate on substantive content can be further enhanced thru the use of software applications specifically designed for that purpose.

The con’s of technology in the classroom in general is expansive and takes an inordinate amounts of money to acquire and operate.  Schools with minimal technology resources can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

Classroom technology, especially laptops for individual use, must be replaced every two ro three years.  Tech staff is required for a school with technology in the classroom.  The more technology the more people will be needed to keep it running.

Use of technology can be a distraction.  A common complaint among educators is that social media is distracting in the classroom.  Instructors maintain that tools like Facebook, Twitter and even spell check divert student’s attention away from what is happening in class and are ultimately disruptive to the learning process.

The use of technology also discourages face to face communication.  Some educators are concerned that while real-time digital stream may create a “safe harbor” for students who are uncomfortable with expressing themselves.  Students can miss valuable lessons in real-life social skills.  At social gatherings and in personal relationships, they need to be able to effectively express themselves and connect with others.

Ultimately, while the debate continues over the role of technology in the classroom, no one can argue that the influence that social media and technology has on today’s student’s.  This tech savvy generation conducts much of their life though social media channels and technology.  With this in mind, it seems prudent for today’s schools to get on the technology and social media train and find ways to successfully integrate these tools into the classroom.

Tenure Reform Law

The New Jersey Tenure Reform Bill, formally called the Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey Act (TEACH-NJ Act), is a product of Governor Christie’s 2-year advocacy for educational reform in New Jersey.  This bipartisan bill was passed unanimously this past June by legislators and signed by Governor Christie on August 6^th, 2012.   The new law is the first landmark reform on the previous tenure law in over 100 years and will affect teachers and administration alike.   As noted in a press release from the office of Governor Christie this new law is supposed to ensure that the most effective and ineffective teachers are identified to provide for the best possible education of New Jersey students.  My review of the statement from the governor’s office on the law (www.state.nj.us/governor) and of NJEA’s website (njea.org) helped discern the new changes from the previous tenure law.  The new law has supporters feeling optimistic and others uncertain about the future of education in New Jersey.

Among the provisions of the TEACH-NJ Act is the general idea that the attainment, maintenance, and the loss of tenure will be heavily linked to the effectiveness of each teacher in the classroom.  A teacher’s effectiveness, however, is going to be based solely on their evaluation ratings, which in turn is to be determined by job requirements, professional standards, and of course student performance and growth.  This idea has many worried, and perhaps rightly so, because although many factors in a student’s life may attribute to their performance, the schools put total responsibility of student progress on the teacher.  Also, of concern is the fact that although teacher evaluations are to rely on many aspects, the provision that requires the partial use of objective measures of student growth does not specify what is considered “partial”.  With school districts being able to choose which evaluation tool they implement, so long as the provisions are met, the standard for what is considered partial may vary. 

More specifically, tenure will no longer be awarded after just 3 years, but instead will only be awarded after 4 years.  These 4 years must include a year of mentoring for 1^st year teachers, followed by 2 years of evaluation ratings of effective or highly effective in the 3 years following mentorship.  Although I foresee the mentor requirement having mostly beneficial influences, an immediate concern here is of the quality of the 1^st year mentor, which could influence a new teacher’s performance for better or for worse if not carefully selected. 

Positive evaluations must be maintained or the revocation of tenure will ensue after 2 years of ineffective or partially ineffective ratings. The only way to prolong tenure charges at that point is to make an improvement in one year of evaluations in which case it is up to the superintendent to develop and provide plans for support for the teachers in this situation in order to lead to improved evaluations.

 The revocation provision may seem fair at first glance until the thought of seniority rights arises.  As of present, seniority rights are still intact meaning that the policy of what Governor Christie calls “last in first out”, still protects grandfathered teachers who may or may not be qualified teachers anymore, while newer teachers will continue to be the first victims of district layoffs.  As reported by nj.com (Critics say education reform bill signed by Gov. Christie doesn't fix state's biggest issues), among several other big proponents to end the implementation of seniority rights like Senator Kyrillos, is state education commissioner, Christopher Cerf who claims, that due to the inclusion of seniority rights the TEACH-NJ act is a great disappointment in terms of total reform. 

NJEA lists other conditions of the TEACH-NJ Act, such as the duty of conducting the evaluation belonging administration as an annual summative evaluation and for those whom have received poor evaluation rating, a school improvement panel (consisting of the principal, vice principal, and another teacher) midyear.  The TEACH-NJ Act also moves tenure cases out of the courts, caps the cost at $7, 500 instead of the $100, 000 it often used to cost, and limits the resolution of a tenure suit to 105 days in an attempt to provide incentive to bring and resolve tenure suits.  Due process also remains intact for cases of appeal over the loss of tenure or employment. 

As Laura Waters, the president of the Lawrence Township school board, writes on her blog, NJ Left Behind, only 30 school districts out of 591 in New Jersey in the year long pilot program.  One of her main concerns, as is one of mine, is whether or not 1 year is sufficient to work out all the possible difficulties that may arise before the TEACH-NJ Act is fully implemented during the 2013-2014 school year.  This is especially so in regards to the controversy over the validity of NJ SMART, which is currently the states data system on student growth. 

There are a multitude of opinions, questions, and concerns that revolve around the new tenure TEACH-NJ Act, many of which may not be attended to in the foreseeable future.  What remains certain is that proponents of the law including Governor Christie see this as the best possible option for the tenure reform in New Jersey, as he was quoted on njspotlight.com (Compromise, Caffeine, and Trade-Offs: Behind NJ's New Tenure Reform Bill) as saying, “my decision was there was enough really good things in this bill that I was not going to allow it not to become law because it didn’t have everything I wanted”.  

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2012/Bills/S1500/1455_R1.HTM

STEM

      In the past few years, there has been a big push for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in schools.  Many believe that in order for the United States to compete in the global market, we need to enhance these programs in our schools.  President Obama stated, “Today, more than ever before, science holds the key to our survival as a planet and our security and prosperity as a nation. It's time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and work to restore America's place as the world leader in science and technology.”  According to the Journal of Technology Education, Vol.23 No.1 Fall 2011 p.32, entrance into the STEM field has grown, but this growth is not keeping pace with the overall needs of the labor market.  Reports indicate that on average there are 200,000 vacant engineering positions annually in the United States.  The United States graduates nearly 60,000 engineering students annually, while countries such as China and India graduate nearly 600,000.  The United States is currently ranked 20^th in the world in proportion of students earning a four-year degree in engineering or natural sciences. 

It is very clear from all of that data that there is a need for more STEM education.  However, the United States is struggling to implement these programs.  According to Helping STEM Take Root by Ron Schachter, districts are facing challenges financing STEM initiatives, finding and training good science teachers, and trying to make room in the school day to offer more science.  President Obama has tried to address some of these issues by tying Race to the Top funds to states that are putting emphasis on STEM projects.  Tennessee is one of the states that received some of those funds and they decided to start their own STEM Innovation Network.  These funds will support “incubator” schools that will use STEM approaches.  One such school is STEM Academy High School in Knoxville.  In order to promote the STEM approach, students will begin in 9^th grade by taking courses in physics.   In 10^th grade they will take chemistry.  This will allow an in-depth study of biology in grade 11.  The students will also take an additional STEM seminar class.  In these courses, they will study problems such as the Gulf oil spill and present solutions to peers and teachers.  Upperclassman will take seminars in which they “major” in areas such as renewable energy, forensic science, and sound engineering.  In developing the curriculum for these programs, engineering and science professionals volunteered their time to help teachers develop lesson plans, tutor students, and start STEM clubs. 

Tennessee is not the only state promoting STEM initiatives.  In Florida, the newest set of state standards promotes inquiry-based learning and 21^st century skills.  The Sarasota County Public School District is piloting a program in three of its middle school classes.  In those classrooms, they are focusing on collaboration, communication, problem solving, creativity, and critical thinking. 

In researching for this paper, I spoke with the Director of Curriculum for Gateway Regional High School in Woodbury Heights, New Jersey and she stated that next year the students will follow a similar approach to Tennessee where the 9^th grade students will take physics, followed by chemistry in 10^th grade, and a more in-depth study of biology in 11^th grade.  This is meant to allow more students to take AP level courses.  They will also be bringing in a representative from the New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning to promote more inquiry based learning.   In math, all eighth grade students take Algebra, with a similar goal that students will take more advanced and AP level math classes in high school.  Another local district that is making a big push toward STEM education is the Kingsway Regional School District in Woolwich Township.  They have designed a four-year academy program.  The program is divided into two phases; two years of interdisciplinary education requirements, and two years of advanced programming aligned with STEM college programming.  Students will graduate the program 28-32 college credits. 

President Obama is also trying to get people currently in the STEM field to help promote this initiative.  In January 2010, he announced his “Educate to Innovate” program.  According to the press release issued by the White House, one part of the program asks 200,000 current scientists and engineers working in the field to work alongside STEM educators.  NASA is one of the organizations that have agreed to help and they held a “Summer of Innovation” enrichment program for teachers.  In addition, President Obama has created a five-year program to recruit 10,000 more teachers in the STEM fields by the year 2015.  He stated,  “The quality of math and science teachers is the most important single factor influencing whether students will succeed or fail in science, technology, engineering, and math.  Passionate educators with issue expertise can make all of the difference, enabling hands-on learning that truly engages students-including girls and underrepresented minorities-and preparing them to tackle the grand challenges of the 21^st century such as increasing energy independence, improving people’s health, protecting the environment, and strengthening national security.” 

As a result, many public private partnerships have developed.  Some examples include Intel’s Science and Math Teachers Initiative, which launched a ten year $200 million cash campaign to support teaching in math and science and Expansion of the National Math and Science Initiative’s UTeach program, which partners companies such as Texas Instruments with the federal government and hopes to prepare 4,500 undergraduates by 2015 and 7,000 by 2018 as STEM educators. 

The United States has tough competition in the global economy, but with the current measures put in place we may be able to gain some ground.  Not only do we need to recruit more students to the STEM fields, but we also need to secure teachers to educate them.  President Obama has made this a priority and has gained the support of some large corporations.  With all of these programs in place the United States may be making a step in the right direction.

Sources:

“Are We Missing Opportunities to Encourage Interest in STEM Fields?”  Journal of Technology Education Vol. 23 No. 1, Fall 2011

“Helping STEM Take Root”  by Ron Schachter Education Digest v. 77 Oct. 2011

Kingsway Regional High School Website http://www.kingsway.k12.nj.us/s-t-e-m-academy/program/

White House Press Release http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-expands-educate-innovate-campaign-excellence-science-technology-eng

A Chance for Every Child

“There is no more critical issue facing the United States than the need for education reform. These are the words of Florida Governor Jeb Bush in his foreword of Mitt Romney’s white paper, A Chance for Every Child, which outlines his plan for education reform. Governor Romney believes this plan will set the stage for what he considers genuine education reform. He criticizes the current administration and President Obama’s approach to education reform of throwing money at the problem. He points out that while America’s spending per student is among the highest in the world, our achievement lags far behind, a theme that begins in elementary school and continues through college. Romney’s plan details the steps he and his administration will take, if elected, to enact change in America’s schools. For grades K-12 the first step is to provide greater choice to parents and students. He believes that best way to increase the achievement of students who are trapped in a bad district is allow them the choice to leave. He thinks that it’s not enough to allow parents to make the choice of where to send their children. However we need to make sure those alternatives are available, and that schools are held accountable. They should be graded based on their results and that information should be transparent and easily understood by parents. Additionally he believes that Title I and IDEA funds should be able to follow the student receiving them wherever they want to go. Recent reactions to Governor Romney’s paper, released in May 2012, have been pointed out some holes in his theory. Democratic Representative from South Carolina James Clyburn says, “I don't see how you strengthen education by taking money out of the system and giving it to a few students to go to a private school”. In the Hechinger Report, HechingerEd, Sarah Butrymowicz writes: allowing more public dollars to follow low-income and special-needs children to private schools, one of Romney's main proposals for reforming American education, does not guarantee those schools will open their doors to them. The Florida Council of Independent Schools which accredits 159 independent schools across the state does not accept vouchers. Barbara Hodges, executive director of the Council says, “Part of being independent means that, typically, our schools do not take tax dollars and that vouchers have not significantly impacted us one way or another”. Even those who support Romney’s idea see the possible drawbacks. NYU professor of History and Educations Jonathan Zimmerman points out that while if successful Romney’s plan could completely transform the way Americans organize and fund public schools, and that's why it has little chance of being implemented any time soon. He calls it the NIMBY (not in my backyard) system of schooling. Wealthy districts are not going to let less fortunate kids into their schools vouchers or not. As far as accountability schools are already required to report student achievement and the Center for American Progress action funds says grading schools on an A-F scale, is hardly a way to eliminate the achievement gap among student groups. Governor Romney also supports greater innovation in the schools, allowing states to find the best way to educate their students as opposed to just following federal regulations. Governor Romney says he will reauthorize No Child Left Behind which will outline basic principles but allow states to carve their own path for educating their students. He also proposes elimination or restructuring teacher tenure, and having evaluations that focus on classroom effectiveness and advancement of student achievement. His plan also calls for recruiting and rewarding great teachers whose primary concern is student achievement and not their own interest. He censures President Obama’s tie to special interest groups including the National Education Association. Romney supporter Florida State Senator Antiere Flores agrees, “given how indebted he is to special interests, President Obama won’t be able to deliver the results that our students need and deserve. In contrast, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will fight to restore the promise of our country’s education system. Jeanne Allen from Center for Education Reform also illustrates this point, “until the president of the United States who ever that may be, stands up and says “No longer are you welcome to walk in to our offices to sit at our tables and talk to us about issues, when children are not your primary concern, until that happens we can't say that you truly reform minded. That is exactly what governor Romney is prepared to do. In his 2010 book No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, Romney states, Teachers’ unions do their very best to secure these insulations from performance for their members, and the results are lack of accountability, rising pay as a simple function of years on the job, and near-absolute job security. These have a deadening impact on student achievement”. Romney’s white paper also includes a new vision for higher education. This includes strengthening and simplifying the financial aid system, welcoming private sector participation in the student loan market, and replacing regulations with innovation and competition. Only with these changes will students be prepared to enter the job market with the skills they need to be successful and the ability to pay back their debts. While all of his points have their pros and cons there is one that stands out as a resounding positive. Regarding the regulations government places on universities about awarding degrees is one that could use and adjustment. Jordan Weissmann, associate editor of The Atlantic says it best, “if schools can figure out ways to graduate students faster and cheaper without compromising the quality of their education, there's no reason to let the government get in the way”. No matter which side of the political spectrum you stand on it’s easy to see that there needs to be a change in the education. Governor Romney’s stance for reform focuses on greater choice, higher standards and accountability, innovation, and rewards for effective teachers. His plan for higher education is to reduce the cost of school by tightening the federal funding and giving schools an easier way to reward to degrees to students who have the skills they need to enter the working world regardless of the number of hours spent in the classroom. Despite a bevy of ideas for reform, Romney revealed few concrete steps to achieve that change, and it will take a lot more than ideas to restructure America’s education system. The upcoming election will not only decide the next President but which direction education in our country will take. Will it stay the course or make a sharp right?

Fixing and Preventing the Dropout Rate

The Dropout Problem

The challenge of keeping teens in school is as grave a concern to parents, educators and society as a whole as it ever was.  With roughly 10 percent of the nation’s teens failing to graduate, it is evident that the need to reach at-risk youth for prevention is ever-present.  The future for dropouts in today’s economy is grim, as the median income of dropouts ages 18-67 was 25,000 in 2009, compared to the 43,000 median incomes of those who stayed in school (Chapman, Laird, Ifill & Ramani, 2011).  High School drop outs are 72 percent more likely to earn 30 percent less than those who complete school (US Department of Labor, 2010).  Perhaps an even more frightening result of the dropout epidemic is the strain it continues to put on the economy.   A high school dropout can potentially cost the economy close to $200,000 in a lifetime due to higher dependency on welfare programs, lack of revenues, insufficient tax contributions and higher incidence of criminal behavior.    Adolescents who miss their high school years are robbed of opportunities and likely to struggle to find work.  It is evident that the disconnection of America’s youth from secondary education marks only the beginning of a lifelong hardship, keeping the search for adequate dropout prevention programs a priority for educators. 

Contributing Risk Factors for Dropouts

Educators and researchers identify specific definitions of risk factors as strong predictors of dropout.  Gleason and Dynarski (2002) listed several general demographic risk factors associated with dropping out as such as; family background, past school performance, personal/psychological characteristics, adult responsibilities, school characteristics and neighborhood characteristics.  In terms of demographics, many researchers agree that White adolescents are more likely to stay in school than Black or Hispanic classmates.  Generally, students of which English is their second language are also more at risk for dropping out (NCES, 2008).  Additionally, students with a brother or sister who has discontinued their education are more likely to follow suit (NCES, 2008), and it has also been found by researchers that employment obligations as well as parental duties lead to increased dropout risk. 

A more in depth explanation of why students drop out can be illustrated by the idea of push and pull effects weighing on student engagement.  Push effects, the factors students most frequently attribute as reasons for dropping out, refer to occurrences that contribute to a student’s feeling alienated, like a failure; such as earning poor grades, disciplinary issues, and general aversion to school.  Pull effects were found to consist of external problems that detract from successful school completion, such as pregnancy, financial obligations, parental duties and employment. 

Poor academic performance and a history of disengagement from school have been found to be the best predictors of who drops out of school.  The most common disengagement characteristics among at-risk adolescents include low self-esteem, feelings of alienation, lower expectations and poor self-concept.  Poor attendance, suffering grades, disinterest in academic activities, low test scores, and placement in special education programs have all been identified as the major contributing factors to disengagement.  Poor academic performance is also directly related to student disengagement as it often coincides with chronic truancy, disciplinary problems, and in-school violence among the at-risk youth. 

Dropout prevention and School Engagement

If student disconnection and disengagement lay at the heart of the dropout problem, it makes sense that programs aimed at fostering student engagement, and cultivating a sense of belonging for at risk students would prove most successful.  School policies that are aimed at building positive school climate, and higher quality teacher-student relationships can enhance student’s connection with schools.  Surveys of dropouts continue to show that students today are more bored and disengaged than ever.  They feel that adults in the school system do not care about them, that they are merely a number, and they fail to recognize the role that high school education plays in their future career goals.  Focusing on programs that facilitate engagement seems to be the direction that dropout prevention programs are headed.  More studies are demonstrating the complexity in the student, family, school and community role in student engagement; illustrating the importance of dropout prevention programs that tackle dropout in a multidimensional approach to promoting school engagement.  In conclusion, the future of dropout prevention may lie in the creation of opportunities for students to earn credits in non-traditional ways (i.e. the expansion of alternative schools), the implementation of policies that improve school climate, and school-wide implementation of early warning systems that warn educators of disengagement of students before it’s too late. 

Technology in the classroom

Meredith Greenfield
Fundamentals of Curriculum

Technology in the Classroom

"Teachers need to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum instrad of viewing it as an add-on, an afterthought, or an event."-Heidi-Hayes Jacobs

The advancement in technology has not only infiltrated our homes and businesses, but has made its way into our schools and classrooms. We have come a long way from overhead projectors and VHS tapes. The education and curriculum industry has taken full advantage of this increase in the use of technological instruments and applications. There are many new tools that are being used and will continue to be expanded on as the technology industry booms and collaborates with educators.

            There are different areas of the education industry that utilize these new technological instruments. One area of interest is the actual enahnced tools that are being used in the classroom. Some of these tools include:

Apple iPad- a touch-screen, tablet computer used as assistive technology for the classroom with educational applications.

Interactive Whiteboards- a chalkboard that acts as an interactive system that uses a touch-sensitive white screen, a projector, and a computer.

AudioBoo- a mobile & web platform that allows teachers and students to record and share audio for their educational purposes.

iClicker- classroom response device that allows teachers to be able to quickly poll students and get results in real time.

eBooks- book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices.

                       

Along with the tools are certain applications and programs that educators/students/parents can use for learning and sharing. Some of these specific programs include:

Text-to-speech or speech-to-text applications- dictation tool that changes the spoken word into text or text into word, used on the iPad.

Diggio- social book-marking service that helps collect and organize anything on the web by book-marking, highlighting, taking notes, taking screenshots, taking pictures, and using documents. It allows you to treat the internet like a paper-based reading material.

Slide-Share- allows anyone to upload presentations, documents, and videos and as a sharing tool, as well as take advantage of materials that others have uploaded.

Popplet- sharing program for teachers and students that allows them to brainstorm ideas, create mind-maps, and collaborate with others.

Grockit- social learning tool that allows students to connect and learn from each other in online study sessions.

Socrative- student response system that engages students through games and exercises on any device they have available, and teachers can easily assess student progress and track grades.

There is also another area of technology that is being used for educational and curriculum-based purposes that helps teachers with lesson planning and resources for new and exciting projects for students. Some of these programs and websites include:

 Teachers Pay Teachers- website where teachers can sell their own class materials and lessons, as well as buy high-quality resources from other teachers.

Planboard- online tool that helps teachers organize their lessons by centralizing everything onto a computer. Lessons can range from broad yearly scopes, to weekly overviews, down to detailed reminders that you can gain access to anytime, anywhere.

StudySync- web-delivered product designed to increase reading, writing, and critical thinking with award-winning lessons aligned to the Common Core Standards for middle and high school.

MasteryConnect- online program that allows teachers to track and analyze how their students are performing with regard to state and common core standards.

Knewton- adaptive lesson planning program that helps teachers personalize learning content or individual students.

Quizlet- studying tool that teachers can utilize in order to promote better study skills and habits for their students.

            

            These programs and tools mentioned are only a glimpse of the type of resources that are available to be used in classrooms today. These lists and areas of technological improvement will only continue to grow over the coming years. For better or for worse, technology has invaded our classrooms and there are a variety of ways they can be positively implemented into the educational system.

For more information and resources visit:

http://www.techlearning.com/index

http://edudemic.com/

Fixing and Preventing the Dropout Rate

Every school day in America, about 7000 students drop out of school. Fixing and preventing the dropout rate has been and will continue to be a vast challenge for educational systems in our country. The dropout rate poses a problem for the United States nationally as well as in global comparison. Although some improvement has occurred in the last decade, the numbers are still exposing this shocking predicament. There are many national and local initiatives taking place to combat this problem. I will describe one national and one local initiative taking place.

The mission of the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network is to increase high school graduation rates through research and evidence-based solutions. Their website (http://www.dropoutprevention.org/about-us) includes a variety of links that provide helpful information, up-to-date research, family and student resources, information about conferences, program evaluation, statistics, etc. This institution can be a helpful resource to us as leaders in educating students.

The National Dropout Prevention Center/Network has identified 15 effective strategies that they have found make the most positive impact on the dropout rate. On their website you can find more resources, overviews, and model programs revolving around each of these strategies.

1.       Systemic Renewal: A continuing process of evaluating goals and objectives related to school policies, practices, and organizational structures as they impact a diverse group of learners.

2.       School-Community Collaboration: When all groups in a community provide collective support to the school, a strong infrastructure sustains a caring supportive environment where youth can thrive and achieve.

3.       Safe Learning Environments: A comprehensive violence prevention plan, including conflict resolution, must deal with potential violence as well as crisis management. A safe learning environment provides daily experiences, at all grade levels, that enhance positive social attitudes and effective interpersonal skills in all students.

4.       Family Engagement: Research consistently finds that family engagement has a direct, positive effect on children's achievement and is the most accurate predictor of a student's success in school.

5.       Early Childhood Education: Birth-to-five interventions demonstrate that providing a child additional enrichment can enhance brain development. The most effective way to reduce the number of children who will ultimately drop out is to provide the best possible classroom instruction from the beginning of their school experience through the primary grades.

6.       Early Literacy Development: Early interventions to help low-achieving students improve their reading and writing skills establish the necessary foundation for effective learning in all other subjects.

7.       Mentoring/Tutoring: Mentoring is a one-to-one caring, supportive relationship between a mentor and a mentee that is based on trust. Tutoring, also a one-to-one activity, focuses on academics and is an effective practice when addressing specific needs such as reading, writing, or math competencies.

8.       Service-Learning: Service-learning connects meaningful community service experiences with academic learning. This teaching/learning method promotes personal and social growth, career development, and civic responsibility and can be a powerful vehicle for effective school reform at all grade levels.

9.       Alternative Schooling: Alternative schooling provides potential dropouts a variety of options that can lead to graduation, with programs paying special attention to the student's individual social needs and academic requirements for a high school diploma.

10.   After-School Opportunities: Many schools provide after-school and summer enhancement programs that eliminate information loss and inspire interest in a variety of areas. Such experiences are especially important for students at risk of school failure because these programs fill the afternoon "gap time" with constructive and engaging activities.

11.   Professional Development: Teachers who work with youth at high risk of academic failure need to feel supported and have an avenue by which they can continue to develop skills, techniques, and learn about innovative strategies.

12.   Active Learning: Active learning embraces teaching and learning strategies that engage and involve students in the learning process. Students find new and creative ways to solve problems, achieve success, and become lifelong learners when educators show them that there are different ways to learn.

13.   Educational Technology: Technology offers some of the best opportunities for delivering instruction to engage students in authentic learning, addressing multiple intelligences, and adapting to students' learning styles.

14.   Individualized Instruction: Each student has unique interests and past learning experiences. An individualized instructional program for each student allows for flexibility in teaching methods and motivational strategies to consider these individual differences.

15.   Career and Technology Education (CTE): A quality CTE program and a related guidance program are essential for all students. School-to-work programs recognize that youth need specific skills to prepare them to measure up to the larger demands of today's workplace.

A local initiative that is addressing dropout prevention is posted on their website (http://www.gcsssd.org/index.jsp). The Gloucester County Special Services District implemented a “Goals for Youth” program. The goal of this program is to develop permanent goal setting abilities and instill goal oriented attitudes and behavior. This program addresses dropout prevention by instilling in youth a sense of what it takes to succeed in our increasingly complex society. The hope of this program is to enable students to become decision makers who exercise greater control over their own lives.

The Gloucester County Special Services District also has its own Alternative School for students in grades 9-12 who are at risk for not completing high school. This school is focused on the "whole student" in regards to their academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs.  The Alternative School offers a School-to-Careers incentive, comprehensive clinical support, summer programming options and other support to ensure high school completion.

http://www.gcsssd.org/index.jsp

http://www.dropoutprevention.org/about-us