According to the Virginia Department of Education, the drop-out rate for county schools, although lower than that of the city, is still significant.
How would you address this question? What measures would you recommend, specifically, to lower the rate?
JACK JOUETT DISTRICT
Diantha McKeel
(Incumbent)
When a student does not obtain a high school diploma, and thus “drops-out”, it impacts the individual student and family and our national prosperity and security. A high school diploma increases a student’s adult earning power and expands career and job opportunities while strengthening our workforce.
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Diantha McKeel
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In Albemarle County Public Schools the annual drop-out rate for all students in the 2006-’07 school year was 1.54 percent and for 2007-’08 1.57 percent, representing a cumulative drop-out rate of about 6-7 percent over the four years of high school. While those percentages best the state and national averages, as a community we cannot relax. I applaud all community discussions surrounding the concern and support the implementation, funding and evaluation of programs to prevent or decrease the numbers. On average, our annual rates are: for White students 1.38 percent; Hispanic/Latino students 4.25 percent; African-American students 1.96 percent.
First, we must identify at-risk students as early as possible. I have supported the purchase of a computer program to help teachers and administrators track each student’s academic progress, allowing for quick recognition and rapid remediation of academic difficulties. Successful students are less likely to drop-out.
Mitigation begins as early. Our successful pre-school Bright Stars program for at-risk students has a parental involvement requirement and a waiting list! I believe we must expand Bright Stars to include more students. The majority of students “leave” between middle school and high school, especially during the 9th grade. Therefore, I support expansion of the current AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Program which targets middle and high school students seen as first generation college prospects and provides them with academic and mentoring support. I hope to continue funding the summer science academy “Odyssey 2025”, a partnership with the Charlottesville-Albemarle Public Education Foundation, and the algebra readiness summer camp for African-American males, both of which have proven successful.
Second, we must encourage all our educators to create relationships with their students no matter how much time it takes! I recently supported a Hispanic/Latino outreach position which has been invaluable in establishing relationships and mentoring with Hispanic students and families. Another proven success is the “time” all of our high schools have carved out to provide extra academic time and attention to students (examples: Mustang Mornings at MHS, 8th period at AHS, and LAUNCH at WAHS).
There is nothing as powerful as the teacher-mentor role model in the classroom. We must hire highly qualified and diverse teachers and administrators. I have been very involved with The African-American Teaching Fellows program since its inception because it partners with our school division to increase the number of African American teachers in our classrooms.
Third, we must recognize there are different pathways to graduation and future success and for some the timeline is longer. I support expansion of the APEX program, using technology to provide students the opportunity to “recover” high school course credits needed to graduate and the General Educational Development (GED) diploma program which offers yet another diploma pathway for students.
RIO DISTRICT
Ned Gallaway
Identifiable factors exist that are associated with dropping out. As a school board member, I will insist that all school personnel are trained to identify indicators of dropping out as well as trained on the steps to intervene and prevent the drop-out from occurring.
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Ned Gallaway
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Each school has a unique culture and identity. The school board must ensure that each school culture is inclusive of all students. Student engagement in the school identity and the school culture is critical when considering drop-out issues, as is engagement of students by the school’s teachers and support professionals. In addition to the training mentioned above, I will focus on how our employees are actively encouraging students to be active members of their schools.
I have been very outspoken throughout this campaign in support of arts education programs, extracurricular and co-curricular programs. One of the many benefits gained by vigorous inclusion of arts education programs is lower drop-out rates. Research studies have shown that participation in arts programs provided students in danger of dropping out with a safe community and place of belonging. Once a participant in the arts programs, not only did daily attendance increase, but classroom behavior improved and achievement in other academic areas increased. The county school division must provide a diverse array of offerings to prevent students from disengaging from their school community.
I provide the same rationale in support of offering numerous extracurricular programs, such as academic clubs and athletic programs. I have been a vocal supporter of revisiting the existence of middle school athletic programs. Issues related to dropping out can often begin in middle school. Participation in a school athletic program can be the very component that keeps many students engaged and motivated to attend and achieve in their academic classes. Non-school sponsored programs often do not have the same academic requirements for participation. Non-school sponsored programs do not motivate membership in the school community. The erosion of a student’s sense of belonging to a school is a critical factor in dropping out. Our schools need to provide as many school-sponsored extracurricular activities as possible to keep students engaged in their school community.
Once a school board member, I will advocate for an aggressive plan of response once a student is identified as in danger of dropping out. That plan will include a role for parents, teachers, support professionals, administrators, parents/guardians, and community members. One of the core values of Albemarle County Schools is that, “Young people deserve the best we have to offer. Each individual child is capable and has the right to safety, mutual respect, and learning.” If “each individual child is capable,” then it is the responsibility of the school division to nurture successfully each individual child’s capability to the extent that dropping out is not an outcome. As a school board member, I will commit to this value to prevent dropping out. Dropping out is not an acceptable outcome. The negative consequences for a student and for the community are simply too severe.
Pamela Moynihan
(Incumbent)
The key to lowering “drop-out” rates is making school attendance attractive, interesting, challenging, and relevant to the students. We must foster their desire to continue on to graduation. At the secondary level, we must reform the curriculum and improve classroom management. It is important to stress flexibility, individual attention, student-centered programs, and challenging courses while ensuring an orderly and safe environment conducive to learning. Given the overwhelming success of our newly implemented Magnet School for Engineering and Science, I recommend creating additional magnet programs and specialty centers in the arts, science and technology, government, and business. We must encourage students to see school as beneficial, adapting our programs to their interests and career goals and offering more accelerated instruction and college-level courses. We should also encourage partnerships with local businesses to create internship programs that allow students to explore real career possibilities and to make their own choices.
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Pamela Moynihan
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Because some students fail to thrive in the normal high school program, I also encourage the use of distance education as an alternative to the traditional high school classroom. Albemarle County Public Schools already incorporates distance learning as a method of credit retrieval for students not making adequate progress. I encourage the creation of a Distance Learning Academy, in which students can pursue online classes in school under the guidance of teachers. I also encourage the use of distance learning platforms in the regular classroom to automate test-taking and submittal of term papers, encourage ongoing student-teacher discussion outside the classroom, and to realize efficiencies in instructional delivery.
It remains important to provide students in danger of dropping out or not graduating on time personalized instruction and remediation. This instruction should occur during regular school hours, so to avoid student perception of additional learning time as punishment. I also support continued availability of alternatives to the traditional high school and middle school. This includes the two Albemarle charter schools, both of which focus on student-centered mastery learning and smaller class sizes. those students that do not fit in the traditional high school or middle school environment often do better in an alternative school. Many graduates of Albemarle’s charter school, Murray H.S., have said that it made the difference in their desire to stay in school and graduate.
The majority of today’s children are intimately familiar with technology. It is important, therefore, that we infuse their education with technology and that we use the latest technological tools in the classroom. The focus must be on making education relevant and useful to students, ultimately engaging them in their own learning. To this end, we must also ensure that we have professional instructional staff familiar with the best practices in educating secondary school students, and able to provide them engaging instruction in the classroom.
SAMUEL MILLER DISTRICT
Eric Strucko
High school drop-out rates correlate with the academic achievement gaps among different socio-economic groups of students.
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Eric Strucko
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These achievement gaps are the result of low student engagement in academic work, enrichment programs, and the school community in general.
Parent or guardian involvement in a child’s school experience impacts student engagement.
Therefore, the Albemarle County public school system efforts to lower or eliminate the drop-out rate must focus on increasing student and parent/guardian engagement to close achievement gaps.
These efforts should include the following:
1. Early detection processes to reveal performance patterns that indicate the beginning of academic difficulties. Such patterns can emerge as early as the fifth or sixth grade.
2. The creation/maintenance of a school environment that allows teachers to engage parents/guardians directly on academic matters, thus having teachers take more responsibility for the outcomes of students.
3. The continued communication to parents/guardians and students of an understanding that new high-wage, high-growth jobs will require some level of post secondary education, and the current economy simply has little work for high school drop-outs.
4. A continuous evaluation of teaching and curricula designs that enhance the connection between high school academics and the skill sets required for employment or college after graduation.
5. Dedication of resources that support a school environment that focuses on academics: small class sizes, easy access to teachers for students and parents/guardians, and the availability of counseling for those students struggling with personal problems.
Generally speaking, Albemarle County needs to support neighborhood elementary schools for early detection of student problems, empower teachers to take more responsibility for student outcomes, and provide the resources necessary for small class sizes and counseling services. The potential results will include a more academically engaged student population, a narrowing achievement gap, and a lower drop-out rate.
