Did you know?

1. Did you know? • High school graduates live longer and are less likely to be teen parents. • Students without a high school diploma have a 12.6% unemployment rate compared to 8.3% for those with a diploma. • The average annual income for a dropout in 2005 was $17,299 compared to $26,933 for a high school graduate.

2. Increasing Student Success with Graduation Coaches Kim Vrabec Graduation Success Coordinator Audra Forsman Graduation Success Coach Fairbanks North Star Borough School District

3. History • Year I and II D.O.P.S. • Year III (2008-09) Graduation Success • 16 Graduation Coaches • 6 Generalists

4. Target Population • Two or more D’s or F’s • Low performing SBA’s • Attendance • Disciplinary referrals • Teacher, counselor, administrator referral

5. A Graduation Coach in an Elementary School?

6. PREVENTION Be proactive - Not reactive • A student can be identified as a potential dropout as early as 2nd grade. • By 4th grade, most students already have a mindset about school.

7. What does Dropout Preventionlook like at the Elementary level?

8. Front Tire External Components: • PARENTS • SIBLINGS • EXTENDED FAMILY • BIG BROTHER/BIG SISTER • OTHER OUTSIDE AGENCIES • OUR COMMUNITY!! Back Tire Internal Components: • ERII / EMII • ELL / ELP / ANE • ASP • COUNSELOR • NURSE • BEHAVIOR AIDE • TEACHER • ADMINISTRATOR

9. Family 1 Referral based on: Attendance & Academic Absences Tardiness K- 27 18 1st- 38 54 2nd- 26.5 7 3rd- 5 18

10. Service Organizations • North Pole Rotary • The Senior Community • The Faith Based Community of North Pole • North Pole Moose Lodge • The Women of the Moose • The Men of the Moose • North Pole Women’s Auxiliary • Retired Military

11. ULTIMATE SUCCESS! Year 1 5th grade: “When can I drop out of school?” Year 2 6th grade: “I need to go to school so I can do things in life.”

12. What We Know • Attendance Matters • Grades 7-12 in 2007-08 • LOW Attendance rate below 80% • MID Attendance rate 80-89% • HIGH Attendance rate above 90%

13. LOW Attendance Students • 25 times more likely to dropout than peers • Only one in four graduate within four years • Less than half meet state standards in Math • Average GPA is a full letter grade lower • Improving their attendance can reduce their dropout rate by more than half

14. Student Support • Make daily attendance calls • Liaison with teachers • Assist with organizational skills • Check in on a regular basis • Attaboys/girls in person • Mentoring programs • BUILD relationship

15. Student Engagement • Highlight Student of the Month • Help students recognize relevance • Involve targeted students in Service Learning Projects • Are there ways to get your students involved in school activities

16. Parent Engagement • Explain your role early on • Parent nights • Acknowledge student successes • Reminders

17. Communication • School stakeholders meet weekly • Keep monitoring students • Recognize upcoming transition periods • Seek assistance from other staff

18. Resources • www.boostup.org • National Dropout Prevention Center/Network www.dropoutprevention.org/ • http://www.edmentoring.org/ • http://www.nwrel.org • Communities in Schools • Alliance for Excellent Education • STUDENTS

19. What can you do now? • Model your expectations • Seek out and mentor a student • Have lunch with a student that doesn’t seem to be connected • Build a relationship • Talk to your students now about a service learning project to take on next school year • Engage your community

20. Questions