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:
Create a database to track the progress of students experiencing academic, attendance, behavioral, or other problems.
Integrate summer jobs offered through local government and Austin Interfaith into student curricula. In April, all students enrolled in school-to-career programs will be bused to the High School Career Fair sponsored by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and the Capital Area Training Foundation.
Assign teachers to mentor struggling eighth graders through their ninth-grade year, also offering alternative instruction, special orientation, and academic assistance after school and in the summer.
Train all first-grade teachers in reading intervention strategies this summer.
Offer summer reading courses for incoming first-, second-, and third-grade students, including bilingual instruction. Self-paced courses will be offered to qualifying ninth and 12th graders.
Assign teams at every campus to arrange for providing social, counseling, and health services, with an eye toward developing a “one-stop” support services center.
Provide staff with added training in multicultural understanding and sensitivity.
Create an executive level director to coordinate the dropout recovery efforts and social service delivery, oversee dropout monitoring, and pursue partnerships with local churches, community organizations, and businesses.
Facilitate peer mentoring across all grade levels.
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.
This article appears in March 3 • 2000.
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