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Innovative programs target district's dropout rate

Dallas Morning News
by Toya Lynn Stewart
December 1, 2001

Research shows ninth-graders most likely to quit.

ARLINGTON, TX - It could be failing grades, pregnancy, poor attendance or truancy, a job, failing state-required tests, expulsion, marriage, homelessness, age, or leaving school to enter an alternative program.

Whatever the reason, the Arlington school district is trying to find ways to lower the student dropout rate through its intervention and prevention programs.

Although the programs try to help all students from kindergarten to high school, a special emphasis is put on ninth-graders, district officials said.

The Texas Education Agency says ninth-graders make up the largest number of high school dropouts statewide. That's also the case in Arlington.

"It's been determined that ninth-graders have the highest dropout rate," said Cheryl A. Rose, the district's director of dropout prevention. "We also have more ninth-graders in alternative schools."

The dropout rate is so prevalent among ninth-graders in Arlington and across the state that TEA designed a specific grant, the Ninth Grade Success Initiative, to target those students.

"This is a ninth-grade grant to allow students to earn credits that they either have lost or to get on track so they will graduate with their class," Mrs. Rose said.

Recently, the Arlington school district received a two-year continuance of the grant. The $1.9 million grant will be divided over the next two years and will be used for several things, including buying laptop computers to create mobile computer labs, buying calculators and paying for staffing costs, Mrs. Rose said.

The district received its first $3.1 million dollar grant in the 1999-2000 school year to help students who were at risk of not moving forward to the 10th grade. The grant money was used to create mastery assistance centers, extended day and evening school programs, summer school, and a computer-based curriculum, NovaNet, which allows students to earn the credits using a computer.

There are NovaNet labs in each of the five high schools, the Newcomers Center, and the district's alternative schools, Turning Point and Venture. The online curriculum allows students to earn the credits they need in English, math, social studies, science, speech and health, said Devin Lee, the NovaNet lab manager at Martin High School.
"It's definitely working," Ms. Lee said. "I've noticed it works well, particularly with our freshmen. ... I think NovaNet is a way to get them back on track before they get too far behind."

The NovaNet program is also used by high school students in other grades who need to earn or make up credits.

During the summer of 2000, the first year the dropout prevention program offered its services, about 423 students were served. By spring 2001, the number of students served had jumped to 2,020, Mrs. Rose said.

Meanwhile, the district's overall dropout rate has decreased from 2.2 percent in the 1999-2000 school year to 1.3 percent, she said.

Educators say some ninth-graders struggle in high school because they are intimidated by the move to a new school, the larger size of the student body, and their new academic responsibilities.

"They come from smaller nurturing environments, and coming to high school is like a big shock to them," Ms. Lee said.

The district also relies on Career Connections, a class that is designed to help bridge the gap between the junior high and high school setting, Mrs. Rose said.
The class, in its second year, is offered to all the high school freshmen through the district's Career and Technology Department.

"Although it's not required, students are strongly encouraged to take the class," said Craig Wright, director of the Career and Technology Department.

The class has several goals, including helping students identify their skills and interests, motivating them to learn, and encouraging them to set goals and get connected to high school, Mr. Wright said.

"The class shows them all the school activities, clubs, extracurricular activities and tries to help them find an activity they like," Mr. Wright said. "Research shows that students who participate in extracurricular activities, band, clubs, or other school activities, have a lower dropout rate than those who aren't connected."

So far this year, there are about 3,500 freshmen enrolled in the one-semester course. Last year about 2,375 students enrolled in the course, Mr. Wright said.

As of Nov. 19, there were 5,890 ninth-graders enrolled in the Arlington school district, Mrs. Rose said.

The district also relies on other ways to reach all of its students.

"We have a K-12 approach because you just don't lose students in the ninth grade," Mrs. Rose said.

One of the most effective efforts is the partnership with the Arlington Police Department called Partners Against Chronic Truancy, or PACT. Police officers will stop, identify and take truant students back to school. The police officers, school administrators and attendance officers also make home visits.

Other efforts include a variety of staff development training opportunities, the use of the Boys Town Curriculum, which teaches character lessons, and the Safe and Drug Free School program. There is also a parental and community intervention component, which includes PTA programs and mentoring programs through community service agencies or groups.

A committee was established in March 2000 to assess the district's prevention initiatives, research and develop new strategies, and analyze and recommend funding needs to implement programs.

Staff writer Toya Lynn Stewart can be reached at 817-695-0341 and at tstewart@dallasnews.com

COPYRIGHT 2001 The Dallas Morning News, L.P. Reprinted with permission.