Football Friday: Stephenson vs. Colquitt County

The Stephenson High School Jaguars have their eyes squarely fixed on the State Championship after a shutout win over Bradwell [44-0]in the first round of the playoffs. This week, they host the Colquitt County Packers who also shut out their opponent last week [10-0]. Will Stephenson continue their historic undefeated season or can Colquitt County pull off the upset on the road at Halford Stadium? Tune in to our live webcast this Friday on gpb.org/football to find out!

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

Webcast: Call Me MISTER

SOLUTIONS TO THE DROPOUT CRISIS

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

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

Call Me MISTER

presented by
Dr. Roy Jones

*How can we partner with colleges and universities to address the shortage of teachers in our struggling schools?

*Learn about the many components of the Call Me Mister Program

This webcast will explore the fundamental principles that provide the guidance and foundation for the success of the nationally recognized Call Me MISTER program model. It is the goal of Call Me MISTER, now in its ninth year, to address the the shortage of teachers serving in some of the state's most struggling primary schools. Both the South Carolina and national initiative strategy will be examined. We will also discuss Project Middle Passage, a Call Me MISTER outreach component focused on mentoring and developing 6th, 7th, and 8th grade middle school African American boys. It is our belief that by successfully placing strong teachers in elementary calssrooms among at-risk among at-risk populations, we will have a positive impact on stemming the deplorable dropout rate.

Visit the Call Me MISTER (acronym for Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Rose Models) website for more information on this national initiative.

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

Webcast: Dropout Prevention in the Digital Society

SOLUTIONS TO THE DROPOUT CRISIS

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

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

Dropout Prevention in the Digital Society

presented by
Ms. Doris Settles

*How much do you know about the new digital world our students live in?

*What do you need to know to protect your students from its potential dangers?

*How can we use current technology to positively engage students in schools?

Being a teenager today is very different from when most of us reading this description were struggling with our own teen angst. Today students have no privacy, no "safe place," and an audience that is truly, truly global. All with the click of a mouse. They are the "digital natives." Doris Settles will discuss solutions for the adult community, "the digital immigrants," to make education, work skills and social interaction relevant, rigorous, and safe for these "digital natives. This always-on, always-connected environment is foreign to most of us, and the technologically immersed environment in which they live has little, if any, connection to the world run by adults, disengaging those already headed for dropping out even further. The solution, according to Settles, is to work together.

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

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

Webcast: Engaging Families in the Pathway to College

SOLUTIONS TO THE DROPOUT CRISIS

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

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

Engaging Families in the Pathway to College

presented by
Anne T. Henderson

*What does a family-school partnership look like?

*How can schools and teachers encourage parents to become educational advocates for their children?

The flip side of dropout prevention is planning for a positive future. Families play a critical role in helping student set goals, navigate the system, and plan for post-secondary education and a career. What school staff do to inform and support families to play this role makes an enormous difference to student success. Learn what the research says about specific practices that school staff and community partners have used in schools that are beating the odds with low-income students.

If you have questions on this subject that you would like to discuss with Anne Henderson, be sure to tune in to the live broadcast.

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. 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

Webcast: Improving the Graduation Rate

SOLUTIONS TO THE DROPOUT CRISIS

Strategic Planning to Improve the
Graduation Rate

presented by

Ms. Deb Dillon

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

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

*Learn where to start to raise your school's graduation rate.

*Find out about Systemic Renewal and how one school system has used this process of planning and continuous review of results to help keep kids in school.

The Fargo Public Schools, Fargo, ND, never suffered from the severely low graduation rates experienced in some areas of the country. However, in the upper Midwest, with an exceptional work ethic and high value placed on education, an 83% graduation rate was considered unacceptable. In 2003, the Fargo Schools contracted with the National Dropout Prevention Center at Clemson University to conduct a Program Assessment and Review (PAR). PAR is a systemic assessment and planning process to assist schools and school districts to plan solutions for keeping students in school and improving graduation rates. The PAR provided the school district with ten recommendations, and the district has been building on those suggestions, bringing the graduation rate up to 90%. Deb Dillon, Fargo Public Schools Director of Alternative Programs, has been coordinating these efforts, and she will share the process the district has used.

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. 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

Americans for the Arts Hosts Arts Education Webinar

Americans for the Arts Hosting Arts Education Webinar

Steve Seidel, Director of Harvard’s Project Zero and Director of the Arts in Education Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, will present the completed findings of his Wallace-commissioned study, Qualities of Quality: Excellence in Arts Education and How to Achieve It.

December 17, 2008 at 2:00 PM EST, 1:00 PM CST, 12:00 PM MST, 11:00 AM PST (90 minutes)

http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/afta/session.php?id=1799

Many children in the United States have little or no opportunity for formal arts instruction so access to arts learning experiences remains a critical national challenge. Additionally, the quality of arts learning opportunities that are available to young people is a serious concern. Understanding this second challenge – the challenge of creating and sustaining high quality formal arts learning experiences for K-12 youth, inside and outside of school – is the focus of a recent research initiative, The Qualities of Quality: Excellence in Arts Education and How to Achieve It, commissioned by The Wallace Foundation and conducted by Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

The study focuses on the character of excellence itself and asks three core questions: (1) How do arts educators in the United States—including leading practitioners, theorists, and administrators-- conceive of and define high quality arts learning and teaching? (2) What markers of excellence do educators and administrators look for in the actual activities of art learning and teaching as they unfold in the classroom? And (3) How does a program’s foundational decisions, as well as its ongoing day-to-day decisions, impact the pursuit and achievement of quality? In this webinar, we will share the findings of this study and introduce some of the tools developed by the research team for use by practitioners committed to examining and improving the quality of the arts learning experiences they provide for young people.

http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/afta/session.php?id=1799

Get in touch with any questions.

John Abodeely
Manager of Arts Education
Americans for the Arts
T: 202.371.2830 F: 202.371.0424

Webcast: Middle College High School: A Meaningful Option

SOLUTIONS TO THE DROPOUT CRISIS

Middle College High School:

A Meaningful Option

presented by

Dr. Terry B. Grier

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

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

*Learn about the history and purpose of the middle college high school concept.

*Find out about the important components of middle college high schools.

*Learn more about the process of implementing this particular kind of alternative school.

Middle college high schools are small high schools for students with academic potential who are not succeeding in traditional high schools or who have already dropped out. These students , located on college campuses, limit enrollment to 140 students or less, and operate on a different structure, location, and schedule. The challenges in this innovative idea will be shred, and implementation strategies will be discussed.

Dr. Terry Grier is Superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District. Prior to this position, Dr. Grier was Superintendent of Guilford County Schools in Greensboro, North Carolina., where he introduced middle college high schools and implemented them on six different college campuses there. He has published over 45 articles in educational journals, presented at numerous educational conferences, and consulted nationally and internationally. Among his accomplishements include receiving the American Association of School Administrators' Effie H. Jones Award for his support of women and minorities in education.

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. 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

Webcast: Teen Parent Program

SOLUTIONS TO THE DROPOUT CRISIS

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

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

Pasco (Washington) School District Teen Parent Program:
Our Children Are Our Legacy

presented by

Christy Challender

*Learn how a Teen Parent Program can both prepare young parents for self-sufficiency while reducing subsequent pregnancies.
*Find out how a Teen Parent Program assures success by partnering with other community agencies.

Christy Challender will discuss the Pasco School district's model for addressing the needs of teen parents in the community so they can make their destination graduation. The program was established in 1997 to remove many of the obstacles faced by teen parents therefore reducing their risk of dropping out. Topics to be specifically discussed will include: Program Goals, Program Benefits, Curriculum, The Work Experience Component and Program Highlights. This program holds valuable insights and recommendationd for school districts and communities looking to support their teen parents.

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.

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

Webcast: Solutions to the Dropout Crisis

SOLUTIONS TO THE DROPOUT CRISIS

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

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

Connected Counseling:
Connecting Students to Success

presented by

Kitty Johnson

*Learn about an innovative approach to school counseling for All students.
*Find out how teachers and counselors can become advocates for students, helping them develop more positive attitudes towards school and thus stay in school with goals for the future.

Standards-based high school educational reform movements lead to the creation of the American School Counselors Association Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs. Saint Paul high school counselors across the district learned the model and created Connected Counseling: A Strategic Plan to Restructure St. Paul's High School Counseling Programs to raise graduation rates for all students.

Connected Counseling means students have connections to caring adults, supportive peers, challenging academic curricula, community partners, and the ability to create a Six Year Plan outlining their four years of high school and two years beyond. This broadcast will introduce you to Connected Counseling.

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.

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

Dropout Prevention & Technology Webcast

Solutions to the Dropout Crisis

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

3:30 – 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Technology and Dropout Prevention—Tools, Tactics, and Things You Should Know

presented by

Dr. Chris Peters

Want to find out how to engage at-risk students in using technology?

How can I use technology with my students if I have a very tight budget?

Dr. Chris Peters will discuss positive ways that technology can be made part of any school’s dropout prevention strategy. Topics to be covered in this live discussion range from "big picture" issues such as developing realistic expectations of what technology can and can’t do, to spotlighting specific technologies that are both powerful and inexpensive. While aimed particularly at those working with students in the school setting, this program will hold valuable insights and recommendations for parents, community members, and at-risk students themselves.

Supplementary materials are now available online for this radio webcast at www.dropoutprevention.org/webcast

All necessary information about participating fully in this professional development opportunity is found on the Web site at www.dropoutprevention.org/webcast

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact the National Dropout Prevention Center.

Participation in this radio Webcast is free and no registration is required. The program will be archived in its entirety on the Web site. On the day of the Webcast, link to the broadcast at www.dropoutprevention.org/webcast.

Having trouble with the link? Simply 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