Whatever It Takes: How Twelve Communities

Are Reconnecting Out-of-School

Youth

Today’s Presentation

• The dropout problem

• Why dropout recovery?

• Whatever It Takes report

• Examples of successful dropout recovery efforts

• What states can do

The Problem

• In 2004, 6,277,000 18-24-year-olds in the United States (22%) had not yet

completed high school.

Center for Education Statistics. (2004). Digest of education statistics 2004. Washington, DC, Table 9; Greene, J.P., & Winters, M.A. (2005, February). “Public high school graduation and college readiness rates: 1991-2002.” Education Working Paper No. 8. New York, NY: Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

The Problem

• An estimated 3.8 million young people aged 18-24 are neither employed nor in school—15% of all young adults. From 2000 to 2004, the ranks of these disconnected young adults grew by 700,000.

Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2004). Kids count data book. Baltimore, MD.

The Problem

• From 1990 to 2000, high school completion rates declined in all but seven states and the rate of students dropping out between 9th and 10th grades increased.

Barton, P. E. (2005). One-third of a nation: Rising dropout rates and declining opportunities. Princeton, NJ: Policy Information Center, Educational Testing Service, p. 3.

The Problem is Worse for Some

In 2001…

• 72% of female students, but only 64% of male students graduated.

• African American students had a graduation rate of 50%.

• American Indian students had a graduation rate of 51%.• Latino students had a graduation rate of 53%.• there were enormous disparities among state

graduation levels, and even larger disparities by ethnicity and gender within the same states.

Orfield, G., Losen, D.J., Wald, J., & Swanson, C. B. (2004). Losing our future: How minority youth are being left behind by the graduation rate crisis. Cambridge, MA: The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University.

The Problem is Worse for Some

• In SY 2000-2001, high school students from the poorest 20% of families dropped out of school at six times the rate of their peers from higher-income families.

US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2004). The

condition of education 2004. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, Indicator 10, p. 11.

The Problem is Worse for Some

• In SY 2000-2001, only 47.6% of persons with disabilities graduated with standard diplomas.

US Department of Education. (2003). Twenty-fifth annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Washington, DC.

The Problem in Boston, MA

• In Boston, there are 7,827 young people between the ages of 16-24 who have dropped out of high school and are not working.

• In 2006, 10% of the 15,670 high school students in Boston dropped out; 61% were male, 55% were African-American and 29% were Latino

• In 2006, 8% of the 1,484 Chelsea high school students dropped out; that same year, only 46% of the graduating class had completed in 4 years.

Based upon work of Andrew Sum and the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern

Why Dropout Recovery?

• Prevention important, but very large numbers are leaving

• Need well-lit pathways back into education and employment training

Why Dropout Recovery?

• In 2001, only 55% of young adult dropouts were employed, compared with 74% of high school graduates and 87% of four-year college graduates.

Sum, Andrew et al. (2002). Left behind in the labor market: labor market problems of the nation’s out-of-school, young adult populations. Chicago, IL: Alternative Schools Network. Retrieved December 27, 2005 from http://www.nupr.neu.edu/2-03/left_behind.pdf

Why Dropout Recovery?

• Dropouts are 3.5 times more likely than high school graduates to be incarcerated in their lifetime.

Catterall, J.S. (1985). On the social cost of dropping out. Stanford, CA: Center for Education Research, cited in Alliance for Excellent Education. (2004, December). Measuring graduation to measure success. Washington, DC: Author.

• Three-quarters of state prison inmates are dropouts, as are 59% of federal inmates.Harlow, C.W. (2003). Education and correctional populations, bureau of justice statistics special report. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice

Why Dropout Recovery?

• Estimated lifetime revenue loss for male dropouts ages 25-34 is $944 billion.

• Cost to the public of their crime and welfare benefits is an estimated $24 billion annually.

Thorstensen, B. I. If you build it, they will come: Investing in public education. Retrieved December 27, 2005 from http://abec.unm.edu/resources/gallery/present/invest_in_ed.pdf

Why Dropout Recovery?

• If only one-third of high school dropouts were to earn a diploma, federal savings in reduced costs for food stamps, housing assistance, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families would amount to $10.9 billion annually.

Muenning, P. (2005, October). Health returns to education interventions. Paper presented at the symposium on the social costs of inadequate education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY. Retrieved December 27, 2005 from http://www.tc.columbia.edu/centers/EquityCampaign/symposium/resourceDetails.asp?PresId=5

Why Dropout Recovery?

Students who have dropped out tell us they want to return.

Case Studies of Dropout Recovery Efforts

Whatever It Takes: How Twelve Communities Are

Reconnecting Out-of-School Youth

In cooperation withCouncil of the Great City Schools

National Association of Secondary School PrincipalsNational Conference of State Legislatures

National League of CitiesNational School Boards Association

Central Question

What can be done to reconnect our young people to opportunities for building useful lives in work, family, and citizenship?

Case Studies of Communities

• A sampling, illustrating various modes of reconnecting out-of-school youth to education, employment, and civic participation

• A practical resource

• Not a survey

12 Communities

• Austin, Texas

• Baltimore, Maryland

• Camden, New Jersey

• Jefferson County (Louisville), Kentucky

• Milwaukee, Wisconsin

• Montgomery County (Dayton), Ohio

• Oakland, California

• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Pima County (Tucson), Arizona

• Portland, Oregon

• Salt Lake City, Utah

• Trenton, New Jersey

National Program Models

• Job Corps

• Jobs for America’s Graduates

• National Guard Youth ChalleNGe

• Opportunities Industrialization Centers

• YouthBuild

• Youth Service and Conservation Corps

• Youth Opportunity Grant Program

Dropout Recovery Efforts Are Varied

• Program, district, city, county, state, and national level

• GED prep, high school completion, associate’s degree completion, employment prep

• Public school districts, CBOs, community colleges, and private companies

• Schools and programs AND policies and initiatives to encourage such programming

Who Pays?

• Dropout recovery efforts are funded largely by state and local public and private revenues.

• Federal Investments in second-chance education and training programs has fallen from $15 billion in the late 1970s to $3 billion (inflation adjusted) today.

Program Characteristics

• Open-Entry/Open-Exit

• Flexible Scheduling and Year-round Learning

• Teachers As Coaches, Facilitators and Crew Leaders

• Real-World, Career-Oriented Curricula

Program Characteristics

• Opportunities for Employment

• Clear Codes of Conduct with Consistent Enforcement

• Extensive Support Services

• A Portfolio of Options for a Varied Group

Examples of Successful Dropout Recovery Efforts

• In Portland, OR, Portland Community College is offering former OSY the opportunity to complete high school and an associate’s degree or significant college credit.

• In Montgomery County, OH, The Out-of-School Youth Initiative has reduced the dropout rate dramatically by targeting programming to 16-24 year-olds without a high school diploma.

• In Philadelphia, the Reintegration Initiative puts programs and supports in place to prevent young people exiting the juvenile justice system from reoffending.

• YouthBuild programs across the country are helping young people obtain a GED or high school diploma while learning work skills by building affordable housing.

Responsibility for Advocacy

• Successful programs are not enough, we must create policy environments to ensure scalability and sustainability

• Advocacy– Federal

• Role of National Youth Employment Coalition

– State

Roles for States to Aid Dropout Recovery Efforts

1. Provide uniform measures of dropouts and student tracking mechanisms

2. Enact at-risk student legislation

3. Encourage multiple pathways/ alternative options

4. Make provisions for funds to follow students

5. Allow award of competency-based credits

1. Measuring Dropouts and Student Tracking Mechanisms

• Implement a standard graduation rate definition and data collection protocol

• Count only those students earning a diploma as graduates

• Build and maintain capacity for collecting, analyzing, and reporting graduation rate data

Example: MD

2. At-risk Student Legislation

Mandate that districts:

• improve the academic achievement of at-risk students

• provide alternative education options • include dropouts in definition of “at-risk”

Examples: CA, ID, IA, MN, OR, WI

3. Multiple Pathways/Alternative Options

• Encourage districts to offer a variety of options to meet student needs

• Eliminate barriers to collaboration between public school districts and community-based organizations

• Allow for various routes to a high school credential without ending up with a system of tracking

• Increase funding for alternative education

Example: OR

4. Funds Follow the Student

• State education funds follow students as they move in and out of school districts or CBO-run schools

• Provides incentive for schools to engage in dropout recovery

Example: WI

5. Competency-based Credits

Allow districts the flexibility to award credit toward graduation based on demonstrated competency, not just “seat time.”

Example: OR

Massachusetts Legislation/Programs Of Note

• SB 2462: An Act to Improve Dropout Prevention and Reporting of Graduation Rates

• An Act Establishing Alternative Education Grant Programs and Trauma-Sensitive Schools Grants

• Pathways to Success (P21)

• Pilots Schools

The nation has more than enough models and know-how to be able to reclaim America’s dropouts.

For More Information:

Jennifer Brown LernerSenior Program AssociateAmerican Youth Policy Forum 1836 Jefferson Pl., NWWashington, DC 20036(202) 775-9731jlerner@aypf.orgwww.aypf.org