Iowa District Offers At-Risk Students Online Option for Graduation
In the latest phase of an effort to curb its high
school
dropout rate, the Davenport Community School District is now offering some
students the opportunity to participate in an online standards-aligned
program
to receive their high school diplomas.
After discovering in 2010 that the third largest
school
district in Iowa had more than a 10-percent dropout rate, it launched
its
Dropout Reengagement Initiative. Following a community rally in August
2011,
administrators went door to door in the district in which 62 percent of
its
nearly 16,000 students are eligible for free or reduced lunch and
invited
dropouts to "drop back in."
In each case, educators offered to create
personalized
graduation plans for each student and three students re-enrolled that
day. In
2012 and 2013, the district held "Graduation Destination" events for
dropouts,
at-risk students and their parents to provide further assistance. By the
2012-13 school year, the dropout rate was down to less than 5 percent.
At that point, the district's efforts shifted to
keeping
students from ever leaving school.
With the help of Graduation
Alliance, students will receive laptops that they can use to complete their studies in
the
self-directed online fully accredited program.
"Graduation Alliance's program is a game changer,"
said
Davenport Community Schools Superintendent Art Tate. "It offers yet
another
opportunity for students who have left school to reengage and earn the
high
school diploma they need to be successful."
Details of the program will be announced at the next "Graduation
Destination" event scheduled Aug. 15.
Graduation Alliance Senior Vice President Keith Myers
said, "The
flexibility of our solution and the individualized supports we provide
naturally dovetail with Davenport's commitment to continuously improve
graduation rates."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.