GA Graduation and Collaboration Coaches Highlighted

SOLUTIONS TO THE DROPOUT CRISIS

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

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

Graduation & Collaboration Coaches: Working Effectively Together

presented by
Dr. Laura Brown and Ms. Fran Bay

*Learn how Graduation & Collaboration Coaches have contributed to an increase in Georgia's Graduation rate

*Learn about the roles of these Graduation & Collaboration Coaches

This webcast will address a framework for dropout prevention that has been effective in Georgia. The state's Graduation Coach program provides early intervention services to students at risk for dropping out of school. The state's graduation rate has increased from 72.3% in 2007 to 75.4% in 2008 - a record high. This 3.1% rate increase represents 8,277 additional graduates for the 2007-2008 school year. The State's dropout rate decreased from 4.1% to 3.7%. Georgia also funds Collaboration Coaches to assist middle and high schools in developing support for students with disabilities. Schools implement strategies for engaging students academically and behaviorally as well as focusing on affective needs.

On the day of the webcast, log on 10-30 minutes early to ensure you are connected to the broadcast @ www.dropoutprevention.org/webcast. You should just hear music until the program begins @ 3:30. If you have problems connecting, call Eric Rodgers @ 864.656.4550.

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 webcast 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://www.dropoutprevention.org/webcast

Effective Mentoring Programs

SOLUTIONS TO THE DROPOUT CRISIS

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

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

The Positive Effects of Mentoring

presented by
Kate Schineller

*Learn what you need to know to run effective mentoring programs.

*Find out about a project that provides mentors for children of incarcerated parents.

Mentoring is one of the most effective and certainly the most economical dropout prevention strategies. In order to have positive effects, mentoring needs to incorporate the right elements, i.e. The Elements of Effective Practice. Kate Schineller will present a full program about mentoring, including who needs mentors; what the research says; and program design and planning. She will then introduce listeners to a successful mentoring program for children of prisoners, the Caregiver's Choice Project, a demonstration project of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and administered by her organization, MENTOR.

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

Clarkston High School Student Presentations

Student Presentations at Clarkston High School

Students at DeKalb County's Clarkston High School are preparing for the spring round of their presentations. These presentations are based on an individual student's interests or career exploration and are developed over an extended period of the school year. The presentations may take the form of PowerPoint, speaches, demonstrations or fashion show just to list a few of the options. Clarkston High School Guidance Counselors and Graduation Coach advise the students and coordinate the presentations. Community members from such fields as the arts, medicine, law, engineering, and business are invited to serve as Judges over the week long schedule of student presentations.

Thank you to Joi L. Chester, Graduation Coach at Clarkston High for sending along the news of the presentations and the picture of students with Tom Roman, Communities in Schools of GA.

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.

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.

Increasing the Graduation Rate, Part 2

Dropout Prevention Programs

The is the second in a new series of articles on the the commissioned research study, Increasing the Graduation Rate. Dr. Donna O'Neal, the author of the final report, will discuss the report and break out the findings in upcoming Georgia Graduation Stories blog posts for educators, parents, community and state leaders who are invested in increasing Georgia's High School Graduation Rate.

Increasing the Graduation Rate, Part 2
A study commissioned by the Governor’s Office, the Atlanta Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.

The research identified more than 20 programs and interventions that are used in Georgia schools specifically to increase the graduation rate. Many of the Georgia experts interviewed indicate that the State level initiatives that they oversee are based on scientific research. However, school level experts had difficulty identifying a research base on which they implemented most of the local initiatives. Experts also indicate that little or no professional learning nor skill development for implementers is provided for many programs and interventions. Generally, continuous improvement efforts are missing statewide.

Many of the programs and interventions identified in this study are implemented in varying ways and in varying degrees across the State. According to the experts, there are many independent variables at work, and in many cases there is no fidelity of implementation. What is fidelity of implementation? Assuming that each intervention is based on scientific research, fidelity of implementation is the degree to which practitioners:

*Implement the intervention as prescribed by those who designed and evaluated the intervention,

*Avoid implementing factors that are not prescribed by those who designed and evaluated the intervention,

*Have and use the professional learning and skills prescribed as necessary by the designers to implement the intervention successfully.

For Phase II of this research, researchers should consider the research on which programs or interventions are based, look to the research for implementation criteria established for the program or intervention, and identify and quantify the criteria that would significantly impact the success of the intervention. Additionally, researchers should locate such programs and interventions in Georgia and test for fidelity of implementation. The researchers should collect and analyze data of program effectiveness and report the effectiveness of the program or intervention and the criteria necessary for effective implementation.

Additionally, the research has the following recommendations:

*Analyze the processes and rationale used to assign potential dropouts to interventions and programs

*Consider moving to a standards-based grading system

*Consider working with the U.S. Department of Education to use End-of-Course Tests rather than the Georgia High School Graduation Tests for national and State accountability systems

*Include research regarding school factors that impact the graduation rate in school improvement efforts

*Evaluate the Remedial Education Program and its funding

*Identify, analyze, and compare schools that graduate more than 85 percent of their students and those that graduate 60 percent or less

*Identify and analyze school systems that have dramatically increased their graduation rate

*Ensure that schools that have a high dropout rate receive intensive school improvement efforts

*Analyze State and local policies that impact the graduation rate

Incorporate the findings of this study in professional learning opportunities for Georgia educators

*Consider commissioning a report similar to The Silent Epidemic to put a personal face on the dropout issues and to bring a sense of urgency to Georgia’s dropout problem.

In Conclusion

With this, local and State decision makers should have the information needed to make informed decisions about how to best identify potential dropouts and how to design, implement, and/or evaluate programs and interventions which focus on keeping students in school.

Please add your comments and questions directly on the blog. Also, we would like to know how you are using data in your school or organization. Look for future articles by Dr. O’Neal on this topic. We hope you will become a regular visitor to the Georgia Graduation Stories blog site.

Georgia Public Broadcasting is pleased to welcome Dr. Donna O’Neal as our newest contributor to the Georgia Graduation Stories blog. Dr. O’Neal is the Director of The Next Generation School Project for the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.

Increasing the Graduation Rate

DATA NEEDED AND AVAILABLE TO MAKE QUALITY DECISIONS

The is the first in a new series of articles on the the commissioned research study, Increasing the Graduation Rate. Dr. Donna O'Neal, the author of the final report, will discuss the report and break out the findings in upcoming Georgia Graduation Stories blog posts for educators, parents, community and state leaders who are invested in increasing Georgia's High School Graduation Rate.

Increasing the Graduation Rate, Part 1

The State of Georgia has extensive school improvement efforts underway, from working with low performing schools in continuous improvement efforts to implementation of a new standards-based curriculum to the implementation of more rigorous graduation requirements. Efforts are paying off - Georgia’s graduation rate is increasing. However, the problem remains, and thousands of students drop out of Georgia schools each year. Georgia’s dropout rate must be tackled directly, comprehensively, and strategically.

In order to provide effective and efficient programs and interventions for students who are potential dropouts, Georgia first must have an accurate way to predict which specific students will drop out of school. Then the State must provide to those students programs and/or interventions which are proven to keep students in school through graduation. Data on the identification of potential dropouts and on program effectiveness must be analyzed. However, there is no clearinghouse of what data are available in the State of Georgia and exactly where the data are located. Therefore, this research was commissioned by the Governor’s Office, the Atlanta Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.

Experts from Georgia and the national level were identified and asked to review the research. Agencies and other entities that may have data that would help answer the research questions were also identified. A series of six focus groups were held and interviews conducted. From those focus groups, interviews of other experts, and a review of the literature and data needed to increase Georgia’s graduation rate were identified. In addition, dropout intervention programs were identified and reviewed and data charts were created.

Click here for the full report and details on the research methodology.

Predicting Who Will Dropout of School

Most dropout prevention programs use checklists of risk factors to identify potential dropouts. In this study, more than 40 factors were identified as indicators that students would likely drop out of school. However, the research indicates that these factors are poor predictors of which individual students will actually drop out. There are problems with using checklists to identify individual students to which to target interventions.

It is difficult to know which characteristics and how many predict which specific students will drop out of school.Many students are misidentified. Many students are placed in intervention programs although they probably would not have dropped out, and many potential dropouts are not identified and not provided programs nor interventions. While both sets of misidentified students are troubling, the former uses valuable resources on students who are not likely to drop out of school.

Checklists that are based on a general population with no consideration of students in a specific locale are not efficient in the identification of specific students who will drop out of school.

Since using general checklists to identify specific students who are likely to drop out are ineffective and inefficient, Georgia’s education decision makers at the State and local levels need a set of risk factors that more accurately predict which individual students in Georgia are likely to drop out of school. Research calls for the development of an effective and efficient early warning system. It is recommended that the State conduct a cohort-based, longitudinal study to identify risk factors and pathways which lead Georgia students to drop out of school prior to graduation. Researchers should collect and analyze existing information on cohorts of Georgia students who have moved through the system previously. Analyzing data on past cohorts of students will enable the State to better predict who will drop out in future cohorts.

There are subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, variations in student populations from community to community and school to school. As Georgia creates and evaluates its data system to identify potential dropouts in Georgia at the state level, it should include a mechanism where school systems and individual schools can enter local cohort, longitudinal data that the State may not have which would enable school systems and schools to predict more accurately dropouts at the local level. These data, once collected, can be analyzed for school systems, for demographically similar schools, and for specific middle and high schools. Educators, then, could create profiles which more accurately predict the potential dropouts of a particular locale. This study chronicles two methods to develop a locale-specific data system to predict which particular students will drop out and how this can be done efficiently and effectively.

The research also recommends the following regarding additional data that would assist decision makers:

*Analysis of reasons why so many Georgia students fail the ninth grade,

*Analysis of why so many Georgia seniors do not graduate,

*Analysis of the process used by Graduation Coaches to identify potential dropouts, and

*Analysis of the data gleaned from a more in-depth exit interview process.

Please add your comments and questions directly to the blog. Tell us how you are using date in your school or organization.

Become a regular visitor to the Georgia Graduation Stories blog site.

Georgia Public Broadcasting is pleased to welcome Dr. Donna O’Neal as our newest contributor to the Georgia Graduation Stories blog. Dr. O’Neal is the Director of The Next Generation School Project for the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.

Georgia Highlighted at National Dropout Prevention Conference

Georgia's Education Leaders as Keynote Speakers

In November, 2008, Atlanta was host to the 20th Annual Dropout Prevention Network Conference. Carrying the Torch of Dreams...Every Student Graduates was the conference theme. It influenced general sessions, roundtable discussions, site visits and small discussion groups that filled the 3-day schedule for classroom teachers, administrators and guidance counselors in attendance from all over the United States. Presenting partners for the conference included: Communities in Schools in Georgia, Georgia Department of Education, National Dropout Prevention/Network, National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities, North Georgia Learning Resources System, and The Georgia Regional Education Services Agencies (RESAs).

Creating a Culture of Hope was the theme of the Opening General Session presented by Dr. Molly Howard. Dr. Howard is the Principal at Jefferson County High School in Louisville, Georgia. She is also the 2008 NASSP/MetLife National High School Principal of the Year. Dr. Howard was introduced to the conference as "the principal who took a failing school in rural Georgia and over the next three years converted it into a dramatic example of how a school can reinvent itself. Consolidating schools into one high school provided the catalyst for change and created a sense of urgency. Factors in this rural central Georgia county: Generational poverty, 12-15% went onto post secondary education, highest dropout rate in the state, highest teenage pregnancy rate and one of the highest low birth weight in the Southeast.

Talking points Dr. Howard offered under the heading of Lessons Learned Along the Way:
*Become a Reflective Practitioner
* Education leaders are architects of hope
* Successful schools have a specific, focused vision led by a strong set of core beliefs
* Each student is challenged academically
* Personalized learning - prior failures do not define a student's potential
* In leadership, power and influence do not emanate from position - power emanates from and
through relationships
* Students need to see real world relevance for their efforts

Dr. Howard can now describe Jefferson County High School's accomplishments in terms of 68% of the students receive a diploma and a certificate of program completion at a local technical college and /or a 4-year Georgia state college. Jefferson County High School is preparing students for high demand, high wage jobs.

Georgia's Gov. Sonny Perdue and Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools, addressed the conference in the Closing Keynote Address. They stressed that the #1 Goal in the P-20 education experience is that everyone is pulling together to increase the high school graduation rate, decrease the dropout rate and increase post-secondary enrollment. Students will stay in school when they see it as relevant to their life and when they know that someone in that school is counting on them to finish. The collaboration between the high school and middle school Graduation Coaches and Guidance Counselors is a significant factor in recent increases in Georgia's high school graduation rate.

Georgia Graduation Coaches Talk About the Program

Georgia Graduation Coaches Talk about the Program

In the fall of 2007, The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE) sponsored the XV Annual Bus Trip Across Georgia. At several high school and middle school stops on the trip, GPEE and Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) took the opportunity to interview Graduation Coaches. Visit the website for Communities in School of Georgia for more information on the Graduation Coach program.

Interview Question: What Is Your Job?

Responses from:
Sarah Alford - Banks Stephens Middle School, Monroe County
Steve Sweat - Dawson High School, Dawson County
Jennifer Rudeseal - North Hall High School, Hall County
Prelvis Paster - Mary Persons High School, Monroe County
Randi Sagona - Ottwell Middle School, Forsyth County

Interviews with Georgia Graduation Coaches

Georgia Graduation Coaches Talk about the Program

In the fall of 2007, The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE) sponsored the XV Annual Bus Trip Across Georgia. At several high school and middle school stops on the trip, GPEE and Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) took the opportunity to interview Graduation Coaches. Visit the website for Communities in School of Georgia for more information on the Graduation Coach program.

Interview Question: How Do You Know that the Program is Working?

Responses from:
Jennifer Rudeseal - North Hall High School, Hall County
Sarah Alford - Banks Stephens Middle School Monroe County
Steve Sweat - Dawson High School, Dawson County
Prelvis Paster - Mary Persons High School, Monroe County

Story from Stockbridge Middle School

HEAR FROM THE GRADUATION COACH

First of all, this is truly the best job in the world, and I work with some of the most articulate young people I’ve ever met. Last year was the first year that Graduation Coaches were in the Middle School. Here at Stockbridge Middle, we began the Liberty Club in October 2007; it was formed for those students who needed extra care and needed to focus on behavior, academics, and/or attendance.

We are called the Liberty Club because of something I heard while visiting the Statue of Liberty in New York. This enthusiastic guide from Tennessee told us this story: When the French designer wanted to make a gift to the United States, he wanted to find a symbol of freedom. While searching, he found a saying in mythology which he thought was appropriate. Liberte said it and it went like this, “I can control myself so no one else has to.” To the designer of the Statue of Liberty, these were the words of freedom and Liberte holding the torch was the perfect symbol of freedom. He designed the Statue of Liberty and made a gift of it to the people of the U.S. for the 100^th anniversary of the founding of our country.

In the SMS Liberty Club, we’ve adopted Liberte’s motto, and the students know and recite it. They fill out membership forms which are signed by the student and his or her parents. There are about 50 students in the Liberty Club now but I see our numbers growing. This is a work-in-progress; however, we see improvements. As in anything, we are asking students to change behavior and some days it does feel like two steps forward and four back. As a Graduation Coach we model those words “Never give Up.” I wanted to share with you one of the things I’m doing in my school. My hope is that we will always have Graduation Coaches in our schools.

Thank you to Ronda Bowe Kustick, Middle School Graduation Coach at Stockbridge Middle School for submitting this article to the Georgia Graduation Stories blog.

Tell Your Students' Stories!

Share Successes and Challenges

Georgia Public Broadcasting, in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Education and Communities in Schools of Georgia, is gathering stories and interviews as well as video and audio clips that reflect the journey that middle and high school students make toward the goal of high school graduation.

We know that one story may not look like another. We welcome them all! We are particularly interested in user-generated content, especially student-created, multi-media videos, interviews, etc. of their academic struggles and successes. Let us hear the stories of those individuals or groups who have made a difference in the lives of the students.

If you would like to feature your students, your school and your efforts to impact the graduation rate across the state, please share this message with those in your school who can bring this project to life - especially the students themselves!

*Submissions can be sent in the following formats:
Digital Pictures: JPG, GIF or PNG
**Video Clips (30 min. or less): MOV, AVI, MPEG or WMV
Audio Clips: MP3

**Steps for Direct Upload for Video Content
GPB has now made it even easier for you to share your Georgia Graduation Stories.
Go to the link to directly upload your video.

Follow these simple instructions:
1. Register for an account. We will never share your information with third parties.
2. Log in
3. Fill out the simple form.
4. Done!

We'll receive a notification that you've uploaded a video. Once we approve it, you'll see it on this website!

The final product will be available in a variety of new media formats, including GPB's Georgia Graduation Stories blog:
http://georgia-gradstories.blogspot.com

Contact:
Barbara O'Brien
Curriculum Contnet Specialist
Georgia Public Broadcasting
bobrien@gpb.org
404.685.2545

*PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU FOLLOW YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL AND/OR DISTRICT'S PROTOCOL FOR MEDIA RELATIONS/MATERIAL PUBLICATION

Options for Education after High School

Georgia's Technical Colleges Offer Choices

Recently, Ron Jackson, Commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia was in the GPB studio to talk about the colleges and the education options available to Georgia citizens through the offerings of TCSG. The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) is a unified system of technical education, custom business and and industry training and adult education.

Listen in to the conversation Commissioner Jackson had on the August 8, 2008 episode of Georgia Public Broadcasting's Radio program, "At Work with Emory Mulling". Some of the topics covered include the difference in curriculum between the Technical College and the University and the availability of the Hope Scholarship for use at the Technical Colleges.

Staying is School is Worth the Ride

This tag line provides an important message to students while succinctly describing a focus of Road Trip, an award winning monthly video series available both on the web and Georgia Public Broadcasting's Education Channel.

The 12 episodes in the series highlight the new age of technology while taking an interesting look at Georgia's Technical Colleges. Students at a fictional Georgia high school bring questions about life and career choices to the actors who play the high school counselors and administrators. Their answer is to have everyone pile into the star vehicle of the series (its orange) and on a Road Trip to the state's 33 technical colleges and three Board of Regents colleges. For the two career counselors, it is an opportunity to slow their county's alarming dropout rate and expose their student to the rewards of education by taking them on these visits to Georgia's Technical Colleges.

A Film Crew from West Georgia Technical College spent almost a year shooting on location to provide students and audiences alike get an "I never knew that " look at programs such as Culinary Arts, Animation & Multimedia, Veterinary Assistant and Robotics to name a few.
Road Trip is a production partnership between Georgia Public Broadcasting and the Technical College System of Georgia.

Business Supports Education in Georgia

Exploring Two Programs

EMPOWER Entrepreneurial Summer Program
Shirley Franklin, Mayor of the Atlanta, launched the Mayor’s Youth Program in 2005. Opportunities for students in the Atlanta Public School system and children of Atlanta City workers. High School Seniors in the program receive assistance and advice about college options and preparation for paid summer internships in the Metro Atlanta area. By adopting High School Seniors in this outreach initiative, the Mayor encourages high school graduation and plan to bridge the transition from high school to next stage in a student’s live whether that is post-secondary education or entry into the world of work.

Mayor Franklin’s program receives administrative assistance from the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency (AWDA) in the form of Education Development Services, Career Development Services, Saturdays with the Mayor and Cyber Centers.

The Mayor’s Youth Program, and AWDA join Colgate-Palmolive, Kroger and Atlanta Technical College to launch EMPOWER, an entrepreneurial Summer Program for 25 high school seniors selected from the Mayor’s Program. EMPOWER stands for "Entrepreneurial Mentoring Preparing Our World Through Education". Participants will have a 6-week experience of classes, internships and field experiences designed to help them develop the confidence and skills needed to start their own business.
For more information on the EMPOWER program in Atlanta and Baltimore, contact Amy Fernandez, amy_fernandez@cohnwolfe.com

Community Coaches
Gov. Perdue challenged Georgia’s Business Community to support education throughout the state. The Georgia Department of Education (DOE) and Communities in Schools (CIS) collaborated in 2007 to create Community Coaches in response to the Governor’s challenge. Business leaders across the state have volunteered to support Graduation Coaches and to bring the business community into the schools.
For more information on Community and Graduation Coaches, contact Tom Roman, troman@cisgeorgia.org

Students Overcome Obstacles to Success

Thomson High School Youth Conference

Pat Farner is the Graduation Coach at Thomson High School in McDuffie County. In January, 2008, she organized a Youth Conference for her students. The conference theme was "Overcoming Obstacles to Success". During the event, students that Pat works with shared the challenges that they face in successfully completing high school education. Their personal strength and determination along with support from families, friends, Thomson High School faculty and Pat, their Graduation Coach, were resources they could call upon to make a difference in successfully reaching education goals.

Thank you to Pat and Thomson High School for providing the videotape from the Youth Conference.

Two Groups Collaborate for Student Success

Graduation Coaches Meet TIE Network Members

Student success and technology resources for the classroom were two of the topics set for the first ever gathering of Metro Atlanta Graduation Coaches and members of the Technology in Education (TIE) Network.

DeVry University served as host for this March event. Jeanne Johnson-Watley, Director of External Affairs, welcomed us then shared valuable information of the scholarships DeVry offers Georgia high school students.

Click here for more information on DeVry University.

Barbara O’Brien introduced the Georgia Graduation Stories blog to the group and encouraged everyone to share their students’ journeys to toward the goal of high school graduation for inclusion in the blog.

Katherine Aiken invited us to join her in one of DeVry’s computer labs for a hands-on exploration of the valuable resources available to educators through the TIE Network. Georgia Public Broadcasting launched the TIE Network in January, 2007. This rapidly growing group of Georgia educators share ideas, offer support and collaborate with each other to integrate digital media into their classrooms. The spirit of collegiality that TIE is known for was quite evident during this evening’s event. Click here for more information on the TIE NETWORK.

Graduation Coach Barbara Santiago and TIE member April Swain were winners of two Pure Digital Fip video cameras for their respective schools.

Click here for more information on Graduation Coaches/Communities in Schools.

Click here to see more pictures.

Blueberries

The stories of the journey Georgia middle and high school students travel on their way to becoming successful high school graduates is the major focus of this blog. As we share these stories with each other, we create the possibility of connections, celebrations, and a more personal view of factors that challenge Georgia’s high school graduation rate.

Our First Contributor

What does this have to do with Blueberries? Kristie Stiles, Graduation Coach at Dodge County Middle School, is one of the first to respond to a call for shared stories. The postings in her blog take us through the first day she got her appointment to her thoughts on the nature of the job, why it is needed, what she is doing, and how she feels about what is happening with her students. If you are someone who likes to skip ahead, you might check out Kristi’s post for September 30 on Shifting Paradigms or October 11 on Mentoring. If you have more curiosity than patience, jump right to Kristi’s post for September 13 to read the anecdote about blueberries.

Click here for more information.

Comments from Kristie in her response to the March 11, 2008 request for content for the Georgia Graduation Stories blog:

The people of Georgia will never realize how tenuous at-risk kids are in
their lives. Some don't know where dinner is coming from, so a school
project is fairly meaningless some days. Children really do begin the
decision to drop out of high school before they ever get there. The
Governor has done a wondrous thing by acknowledging and funding such a
critical person in the lives of these often left behind children.

Thank you to Kristie and to the students, families, teachers and administrators of Dodge County Middle School.

Background

In 2006, Gov. Perdue introduced the High School Graduation Coach initiative that placed Graduation Coaches in 369 Georgia high schools. Students who are at-risk of becoming a school drop out are the Graduation Coach’s target population. Graduation Coaches work along with parents, teachers and school administrators to help the identified students successfully graduate and to be prepared for a post-secondary education and/or workforce experience. The Georgia Department of Education’s Division of School Improvement Services and Communities in Schools of Georgia collaborate to provide training, support and technical assistance for Georgia’s Graduation Coaches.

Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year, Middle School Graduation Coaches were placed throughout Georgia’s Middle Schools. Graduation Coaches at this level work on providing a successful transition for all students from elementary school to middle school. The Coaches also provide at-risk middle school students with comprehensive prevention and intervention programs.

Department of Education

Click here for more information.

Communities in Schools

Click here for more information.