Graduation Coaches - By the Numbers!

10 Reasons Graduation Coaches Rock!

1. Over 84% of graduation coaches are working with a Graduation Team and 76% are members of their school's Leadership Team.

2. More than 99% of graduation coaches have used Attendance Interventions, which often include Parental Engagement and Outreach.

3. Over 99% of graduation coaches provide Academic Advisement to their students.

4. Nearly 93% of graduation coaches have worked with their cluster schools and have created Transition Programs for students.

5. Over 97% of graduation coaches provide General Academic Tutoring.

6. Nearly 90% of graduation coaches have used Peer-to-Peer Mentoring.

7. Over 81% of graduation coaches use Caring Adult in the Building programs.

8. Almost 70% of graduation coaches work with Community Mentors.

9. Over 72% of graduation coaches provide College/Career Programs and guidance.

10. Nearly 88% of graduation coaches offer Life and Social Skills support to their students.

This information first appeared in The Coach, A Newsletter for Georgia's Graduation Coaches and reflects data from the Fall 2008 Survey.

GPEE Bus Trip Across Georiga: Snapshot of the Riders

Strengthening the Pipeline to Graduation

For 16 years, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education has established a "bus route" into communities and classrooms all over Georgia, lifting up and celebrating success in education. GPEE reports in their "rider's guide" that in 15 years, more than 1,750 riders have participated in these Bus Trips, making almost 260 stops in more than 120 school systems and communities, covering a total distance of more than 24,000 miles.

Fall, 2008, two buses, with riders from classroom teachers, administrators, pre-service students along with business and community leaders set out to discover what Georgia schools need to do provide "top-notch educational opportunities for all students". Under the banner of Strengthening the Pipeline to Graduation, the 16th Annual Bus Trip Across Georgia took off again.

Snapshot of the Riders

North Route Chair, Jackie Parker. Jackie is Vice-President, Glrobal Inclusion & Diversity and Head of Corporate Philanthropy for Newell Rubbermaid.






Students majoring in education and college administrators were among the Bus Riders. Colleges and universities represented on the North Route included: Kennesaw State University, Macon State College, Fort Valley State, Clayton State University and Dalton State College.

Andrew Cameron, Senior Program Director with Amazing Young Minds and Atheletes Corp. represented the High School for Recording Arts/Studio 4.







Leanne Maule, 2009 Georgia Teacher of the Year
Leanne was chosen from a pool of 141 applicants that were selected as Teacher of the Year by their individual school districts.
Ten finalists were chosen based upon the scores of the essays on their applications, and interview process and observations in their school.


Andrea King and Susan Grigg are the Georgia recipients of the 2008 Milken Awards.

From the website:

The Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards program provides public recognition and financial rewards to elementary and secondary schoolteachers, principals and other education professionals who are furthering excellence in education. By honoring outstanding educators, the program strives to attract, develop, motivate and retain talented people to the challenge and adventure of teaching.

GA Education Issues Reported on GPB's Lawmakers

Follow the Georgia General Assembly on Education Issues

Check in with Georgia Public Broadcasting's Lawmakers program for nightly coverage of the Georgia General Assembly. The program is in its 39th year and airs every night the Assembly convenes for the duration of the legislative session. Lawmakers is another resource for citizens to use to keep up with the issues that affect Georgia schools.

Follow this link to view recent education coverage on the Lawmakers program.

Best Practices on View in Georgia Schools: GPEE Bus Trip Across Georgia

Strengthening the Pipeline to Graduation

What is a more universal symbol for education than the big yellow school bus? For 16 years, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education has taken that symbol and established a "bus route" into communities and classrooms all over Georgia, lifting up and celebrating success in education. GPEE reports in their "rider's guide" that in 15 years, more than 1,750 riders have participated in these Bus Trips, making almost 260 stops in more than 120 school systems and communities, covering a total distance of more than 24,000 miles.

Fall, 2008, two buses, with riders from classroom teachers, administrators, pre-service students along with business and community leaders set out to discover what Georgia schools need to do provide "top-notch educational opportunities for all students". Under the banner of Strengthening the Pipeline to Graduation, the 16th Annual Bus Trip Across Georgia took off again. The North Route included stops at Central Education Center (Newnan), 12 for Life/Southwire/Carroll County Schools (Carrollton), Advanced Academy of Georgia (Carrollton), Marietta High School (Marietta), Pickens County Middle School (Jasper), D. Scott Hudgens, Jr. Early Learning Center (Lawrenceville) and East Jackson Elementary School (Commerce). The South Route included stops at Huntington Middle School (Warner Robins), Schley Middle/High School (Ellaville), International Studies Elementary Charter School (Albany), Funston Elementary School (Funston), Hand-In-Hand Primary School (Thomasville) and Lowndes High School (Valdosta).

Jackie Parker, Vice President, Global Inclusion and Diversity, Corporate Philanthropy at Newell Rubbermaid served as Chair for the North trip.
Julie C. Smith, Director, External Affairs for Verizon was the Chair for the South Trip.











Now is the time to think about Georgia schools and programs that are working hard and being successful at meeting the education needs of all the students. Is there a best practice in your school or a story of outstanding community support that would be helpful to share with others? Nominate your school for the 17th Annual Bus Trip Across Georgia. Wednesday, March 25, 2009 is the deadline for returning nomination forms to GPEE.

Webcast: Improving Graduation Rates Through Virtual Schooling

SOLUTIONS TO THE DROPOUT CRISIS

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

3:30-4:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Improving Graduation Rates Through Virtual Schooling

presented by
Mr. Stuart Udelll

*What role can virtual schooling play in dropout prevention?

*What success have others had with virtual schools?

*With current budget restrictions, are virtual schools cost effective?

In his 2008 book Disrupting Class, Clayton Christensen, Harvard business School professor and noted author on disruptive technology and innovation, suggests that within the next decade, U.S. high school students may be taking up to 5o% of their courses virtually. While independent virtual schools have begun to proliferate outside the traditional school system, Stuart will discuss alternative models of virtual schooling that school and districts may embrace to keep students "within their borders". In addition, he will examine the potential for helping to improve graduation rates through virtual education models.

On the day of the webcast, log on 10-30 minutes early to ensure you are connected to the broadcast @ www.dropoutprevention.org/webcast.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
Supplementary materials are now available online. All necessary information about participating fully in this professional development opportunity is found on the website. For further questions, contact the National Dropout Prevention Center or call 864.656.2580.

PARTICIPATION IN THE WEBCAST
Participation in this webcast is free and no registration is required. The program will be archived in its entirety on the website. On the day of the webcast, link to the broadcast. This webast is produced with support from Penn Foster. If you have trouble with the link, copy and paste the entire address listed below into your web browser:

http://guest.cvent.com/i.aspx?1Q,P1,F063CEFD-2B16-4933-9440-BC7ACFDCF044

GA Grad Coaches Share Best Practice

Graduation Coaches Share Best Practices at The National Dropout Prevention Conference

When the National Dropout Prevention Conference came to Atlanta in late 2008, sessions presented by Georgia Graduation Coaches were some of the most worthwhile throughout the 4-day event. Here are two examples:

Georgia's Fulton County Schools were represented by a team of Middle School Graduation Coaches. This enthusiastic and dedicated group of educators shared examples of what they do in their schools to meet the needs of students. In a presentation entitled Lighting the Torch in Middle School, we got a glimpse of how these Coaches create individual and group sessions, credit recovery programs, creating plans for success for students, offering parent workshops, encouraging community partners, mentoring programs and offering parent workshops. Machelle Allen, Andrea Cheetham, Mimi Gamel, Robyn Magnussen, Andrea Walker, Jennifer Wilson and F.J. "Harvey" Oaxaca all work to create a culture for their schools that is highly motivated and enthusiastic with a "no excuses" mindset. Fulton County Schools offers a website that you can visit for more details on these programs and to contact the Coaches by email.

Gloria Santana-Gelin, Graduation Coach at Dobbins Middle School, led a round table discussion on her school's Pen Pal Program. The program currently includes 5th grade students from feeder elementary schools paired with 6th grade students in the current middle school. It also includes 8th grade students from the current middle school and the 9th grade students in high school. Four letters are written in the Language Arts classes with participation being voluntary for teachers and students. Ms. Santana-Gelin plays a central role in matching the pen pals and working with the classroom teachers on appropriate content for the letters.

Feedback to date from teachers is that this is both a good way to prepare the students for the next grade level and to get the older students involved in school as a role model for others. Students want to hear from their peers about decisons and choices that they will have to make as they make the transition to the next grade level.



Visit the designated websites for more information on the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network and for the Georgia Graduation Coach program.