Monroe County

Road to Graduation: More Than Just A “Passing” Lane

March 2013NDPC SD and WVDE

Our County

• http://www.travelmonroe.com/

Our Original Team• Dr. Kevin Siers, Superintendent• Joetta Basile, Special Education Director• Sherry Baker, Student Assistant Team Specialist/Dropout

Prevention Contact• Lisa Mustain, Principal, James Monroe High School• Susan Weikle, Assistant Principal, James Monroe High School• Pat Boone, Math Teacher• Doris Franklin, Special Education Teacher• Jeff Goff, AP English Teacher• Alicia Mann, Special Education Teacher• Hazel Toler, Fourth Grade Teacher

Starting Points (before and after the project)

The high school and county administration began initiating ways to address both the graduation and the dropout rates prior to receipt of the NDPC SD grant.

Year Graduation Rate Dropout Rate 06-07 85.0% 2607-08 85.9% 1908-09 81.38% 4309-10 83.69% 2010-11 76.03% *4 Year Adjusted Cohort Rate 2711-12 75.5% 212-13 Presently 0

Dropout Factors• Attendance and

Truancy Prevention

• Behavior• Course

Performance-Academic Content and Instruction

• Student Engagement

• Parent Engagement

• School Climate

While all six factors were focused upon within Monroe County, the ABCs (Attendance, Behavior, and Course Performance) of dropout prevention as well as student engagement were specifically targeted for ALL students .

Interventions

• Revised Dropout Prevention PolicyCounty-wide dropout procedure for regular education and students with disabilities

• Mentoring Program• Finish Line Clubs• GED Options Program• Alternative School/Credit Recovery• Community Forums• Family Nights

Initial Plan

• Focus: Students with disabilities• Money: Finish Line Clubs T-shirts Field Trips Professional Development Traveling Expenses

Plan Revisions

• After professional development through NDPC SD, revisions were made to include all students, not just those with specific disabilities.

County Developed Resources/Tools

• Complete revision of Dropout Prevention/Withdrawal Policy

• At-risk Indicators• Additional Grants: Education Alliance- Three part-time members Innovation Zone Grant - $227,500.00 to focus on dropout prevention

WVDE: Early Warning System Tool

• Invaluable Tool• Focus: ABCs of Dropout Prevention• Only as accurate as information submitted

Use of Funds

• 2011 Professional Development/Travel

• 2012 Professional Development/Travel/Finish Line Clubs/T-shirts/Field Trips

• 2013 Professional Development/Travel/ Finish Line Clubs/ Field Trips

Contact Information

• Sherry Baker, Monroe County Schools sjbaker@access.k12.wv.us 304-772-3094

Thank you !