Archive for March, 2009
« Previous EntriesDallas Drop Out Rate
By asdspec | Monday, March 30th, 2009
I have worked with students in K-12+ in schools as a specialist in Marion, Polk, and Yamhill counties. Each district has very unique characteristics that contribute to their drop out rates. Currently I am in the Dallas school district in Polk county. The drop out rate for Dallas in 06-07 was 3% which is well below the state average of 4.3%. Dallas is a small community located near a state university in addition, there is a community college extension campus located adjacent to the high school campus. I believe these contribute to Dallas having a drop out rate that is well below the state target. In addition, the district provides an alternate education campus for 11th and 12th grade students to help them graduate. This program assists students in finishing school and in developing a resume and interviewing skills.
Reasons students drop out
- economic harships
- lack motivation to continue
- family value of education
- social pressures
- drugs
In Dallas students are currently meeting the graduation rates for high school students. However, the signs of coming problems are reflected in the middle school attendance rates. According the the AYP report middle school students who are economically disadvanted and those of Hispanic orgin did not meet for attendance.
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Why are we doing this?
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Monday, March 30th, 2009
Welcome Spring 2009 class.
Why should you take this course? Why should you learn to build relationships with kids at risk? Who are these kids? Who else cares? How can I know?
Almost every time I listen to the news, or read online, the subject of the dropout rate keeps popping up. Today I listened to a discussion of the candidate’s views and ideas for reducing the drop out rate among Hispanics (the highest of any ethnic group.) Yesterday I mentioned in this blog that Fox News considers teen dropout rates one of the important issues facing America today.
Anytime No Child Left Behind is mentioned, the dropout rate is soon part of the conversation. There are articles lately arguing different ways to calculate the dropout rate, as well as mention of the dropout rate as a key indicator of a school’s success in different areas.
The dropout rate is politics, its economics, it is a social issue and an educational one. The dropout rate in our country is an indicator of other problems and other issues. And though there is a lot of conversation about how to solve this problem, so far, we know that one strategy has had a positive impact – forming better relationships – with kids, with their families and their communities. That’s why we offer this course.
My Challenge to You - Start noticing what the media says about dropouts.
Let’s track this trend and gather information together. Use this post as a starting point that you can use to submit links to, or quotes from any articles or materials in any medium that you come across related to the dropout rate.
Let’s collect opinions, points of view, statistics and strategies.
My husband has an expression, “when you are hungry, all you see is bakeries.” My challenge to you is … when you are aware of a new major concept – the dropout rate, kids at risk, and struggling schools, what do YOU notice all around you?
Please share.
Topics: Drop Out Rate, Dropouts | 3 Comments »
Beaverton Drop out Rates
By nadege7 | Sunday, March 29th, 2009
The drop out rate in 2005-2006 for Beaverton schools is 3.6% which is just above the county rate of 3.4%. Overall, this is a 56% improvement from 2000-2001. According to this article Asians have a 2% drop out rate, Caucasians 2.7% and Latinos 10.3%.
Some of the reasons kids gave for dropping out of school are: pregnancy, having to get a job to help support the family, others said they were failing class and/or falling behind and this was the the easiest way out of the problem. One particular reason caught my attention in a survey given across the US, and that is– 69 percent – said, “they were not motivated or inspired to work hard. In fact, two-thirds said they would have worked harder had it been required of them.” We as Bigs are part of this solution, to encourage them in school and to be the postive role models to help them see the “Why” behind getting a great education.
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Reflection on what I have learned from Lesson 1 info.
By fhernandez | Thursday, March 26th, 2009
The things that are being discussed are things that I have been exposed to in passing while doing my work as a case manager in Portland. I have not had them concentrated in the manner that they are put forth in this lesson and I have started to make connections amongst some of those factors that I can probably see as being true. The most surprising part of the lesson has been that kids feel they have too much freedom, which to mean seems to contradict what most teens want. I have heard students tell me that they do not want to be treated as a child or middle schooler, so to hear some of them say that having too much freedom is a bad thing. It is interesting how some students want that freedom and others do not and my big concern now is how to find the correct balance of freedom and structure.
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Reflection on Silent Epidemic
By fhernandez | Thursday, March 26th, 2009
The factors that lead to a student dropping out in my mind are:
1. Self-perception/Expectations for themselves
2. Home Situation
3. Parental Support
4. School Support
5. Support systems/ Friends
I read the section on slow disengaging and the thing that really rang true for me is the idea of absenteeism and that the school lets them get away from them. I think this idea falls into three categories of what I listed earlier and those are: Parental support (in that the parents are not making sure the student goes to school), school support (the school does not help when they are just letting a recording notify parents and often the students can race home and delete the message), and Support systems (the parents and schools that are suppose to be support systems for the students do not always meet eye to eye or communicate in a proper manner).
I also feel I cheated but for a while I have agreed with what is also on the other part of the page about having way too much freedom as a high school student. They lose a lot of the structure they had as middle school students. One example the article gives is that the students see it as easier to cut class, which to me is a troubling trend considering a lot of the schools in Portland Public pay security guards to monitor campus. Does this mean that they are doing their job? Also another interesting tidbit from the article was that with the freedom also comes the freedom of students deciding to do work or not do work. This to me has a big impact because students do not realize that they are hurting themselves until it is too late to stem the tide.
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List of Factors that lead to a drop out
By fhernandez | Thursday, March 26th, 2009
The five factors that I feel impact a student in dropping out:
1. Self-Perception/Expectations (the way that students sees him/herself and the amount of confidence they have in their skill set is very important.)
2. Home situation
3. Parental support
4. School support
5. Support Systems/friends
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Drop out rates for Portland
By fhernandez | Thursday, March 26th, 2009
Currently I am working through the making connections curriculum and was asked to blog on the drop out rate in the area I work in. I work in Portland Public Schools and some of the characteristics that are mentioned about students dropping out are things I knew. I was a minority student so I was often times told that I was more likely to drop out than students of other backgrounds.
The one thing that was shocking is how the small school idea is failing our kids. A clear example of this is that four small academies have the highest rate of failure in our school district. I have been against it from the beginning in that it takes away from students the opportunity to get exposure to all kinds of different classes. I work at a traditional school and a school that is 3 small schools on one campus and students in the small schools complain about the lack of variety of classes and also about how they have to transfer within campus to get to take the classes they want (which is a long process in and of itself). An article online tells me that the division into small schools have pushed students out of poorer schools seeking the traditional high school environment. The kids who can transfer out are usually a little more affluent in that they can afford to pay the transportation costs. The article also discusses how the government has allowed these changes even when the population that have children going to this school have been opposed. The article ends by saying how long are we going to let children to continue to flounder in schools that are not working.
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Gone Fishing: Ideas for Something to Do Outdoors
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Thursday, March 26th, 2009
Last week’s post about outdoor resources for kids made it clear (as a healthy stream) that mentors and others who work with kids are often looking for active ideas for things to do, especially things to do outdoors. So (and keeping in mind the thought that not every kid has the chance to enjoy the outdoors), I’ve been angling for some good ideas to share. Then, my husband, who is itching to get out on the river, informs me that the spring salmon fishing season has started in Oregon.
It was this fact that made me notice an email about a new resource designed to introduce kids to the pleasures of fishing, and the importance of protecting our environment.
Trout Unlimited, whose mission is “Conserving, protecting and restoring North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds,” has just launched a new website … “just for kids.” Stream Explorers is a nice site, friendly and accessible, filled with lots of information and activities that adults and kids can enjoy together, It can also inspire you, and the kids you work with, to go outdoors, go fishing, or simply explore our rivers and streams … together.
The site includes sections such as”Go Fishing,” “Fish Facts” or “Get Active.” It also includes a contest, lots on information on everything from fishing gear to tying flies, as well as ideas for exploring riparian areas, and “Things to Do with Your Class or Troop.”
It is designed as a companion to a new quarterly magazine for kids, Stream Explorers, but the website on its own is a great way to introduce kids “to the world of clean water and wild fish, as well as the joy of fly fishing.” Enjoy … and if you catch anything, send us a picture.
P.S. I once caugt a fish … THIS BIG.
Topics: Outdoor Education, Quality Time, RESOURCES | No Comments »
A Rich Resource on Classroom Climate and more
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Friday, March 20th, 2009
Sometimes it is easy to forget that blogging is interactive. Wednesday’s resource post brought a happy reminder that there are people out ‘there’ who read what I post, and, that there are other organizations with similar goals and interests who are thinking and writing and working to find ways to make connections with kids. In fact, I discovered that there is another great blog filled with relevant resources that are ideal for teachers, mentors and anyone who cares about making kids feel comfortable in school.
The School Climate Blog is “maintained by the staff of the Center for Social and Emotional Education (CSEE), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to working with schools to improve school climate. Designed to promote dialogue about the importance and influence of school climate in K-12 education, we’re talking about assessment, best practices, funding opportunities and everything in between.”
I will be sharing some of the excellent information I have found on this blog, but for today, my goal is to direct you to this rich resource, and to point out that this blog has a great list of other blogs about education, technology, parents, policy, relationships, resources, and much more.
Check it out!
Topics: Creating a Positive, RESOURCES | 1 Comment »
Resources: Outward Bound for Adventure
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
In the final lesson of the Making Connections course, students are asked to suggest some resources that they find valuable.
Students have offered lots of great ideas that will be enhancing the resources available within the course, but with spring popping up all around, I think it is a good time to share some of the recommended resources specific to outdoor, adventure, and experiential education, though, (as it was pointed out) “the information and strategies could probably be applied to a lot of K-12 classrooms.”
Outward Bound Goes to the Inner City
This journal article describes a program at the Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center in Boston (Massachusetts) that supplements the traditional program of ropes and rocks with community service, giving urban students opportunities to try out new leadership skills in local neighborhoods.
Buchanan, D. (2000).Educational Leadership v 50 Dec 1992/Jan 1993 38-41.
Expeditionary Learning Schools Outward Bound
(ELS) is a national, non-profit organization that opens new elementary, middle and college-oriented secondary schools, and partners with existing schools, to improve student achievement; build student character; enhance teacher practices; and instill a positive school culture. The ELS approach promotes rigorous and engaging curriculum; active, inquiry-based pedagogy; and a school culture that demands and teaches compassion and good citizenship.
Adventure Education and Outward Bound: Out-of-class experiences that make a lasting difference
This article examines the effects of adventure programs on a diverse array of outcomes such as self-concept, locus of control, and leadership.
John A. Hattie, Herbert W. Marsh, James T. Neill, Garry E. Richards, Review of Educational Research v 67 Spring 1997 43-87.
Cowstails and Cobras II: A Guide to Games, Initiatives, Ropes Courses, and Adventure Curriculum. Karl Rohnke, Project Adventure, Inc. in cooperation with Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, Iowa, 1989.4. ISBN 0840354347, 9780840354341
Topics: Outdoor Education, RESOURCES, Resources for Mentor, Resources for Teacher | 1 Comment »
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