Naked City
An Ounce of Prevention
By Kevin Fullerton, Fri., March 3, 2000
By the fall semester of this year, the Austin Independent School District will extend some of the most intensive dropout prevention efforts in recent memory to its students, nearly one-third of whom, according to recent accountability numbers, are being lost between ninth and 12th grades.
On Monday, the dropout prevention task force assembled by AISD superintendent Pat Forgione in October released its final report, with task force leaders expressing hope that the school district will redefine its mission from merely providing opportunities, to investing in students' successful graduation. The plan is district-wide in scope but puts individual campus principals under the microscope, requiring them to report on the progress of low-performing students when they submit their yearly performance data. In brief, the immediate steps the district will take are:
AISD estimates it will cost about $4 million to implement the initiatives this year, and an additional $6 million to maintain and expand them through 2002.
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