GRADUATE FLORENCE
A Florence School District One Initiative to
Provide
“SUCCESS FOR ALL STUDENTS”
School District and Community Action Plan
Mr. Larry Jackson Superintendent
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction: Why is this a community effort?
Call to Action
School and Community Action Plan
Executive Summary
Florence One Superintendent Mr. Larry Jackson was dismayed by the drop out percentage of Florence School District One and organized a committee to reengage youth who had dropped out of school. He has instituted a number of initiatives to help youth find success and stay connected to school. Mr. Jackson has consistently stated the importance of Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships since his first days as superintendent. In keeping with those tenants he has worked to improve community relationships and involve the community in all facets of the school district. He has embraced the Mayor’s Coalition to Prevent Juvenile Crime, and its forty members, as an important community partner, he has also encouraged a strong bond with the Florence Education Foundation, and has worked to partner with business in forming the Florence Education and Business Alliance. He also has had a strong relationship with the State Department of Education and the National Drop Out Prevention Center through the Nine Schools Project. Through these partnerships a drop out prevention plan was developed.
The goal of Graduate Florence is to increase the graduation rate by 5% over the next three years to the 2011 school year.
This effort is a collaborative one that includes: Florence School District One, State Department of Education, Mayor’s Coalition to Prevent Juvenile Crime, Education Foundation, and the Florence Education and Business Alliance.
Why is this a Community Action?
The drop out rate affects all citizens in the community either directly or indirectly. It is a problem that requires the effort of the entire community. The success of Florence’s youth will determine the success of our community. If the youth are not prepared for work, not given proper soft skills for the work place, and not given every opportunity to graduate; the work base of Florence will be ill prepared for new business and Florence will lose jobs to other communities. Conversely, a large drop out rate increases the chances for increased crime in the community and an increased cost to the community for incarceration of the offenders. Instead of spending community funds on “positive” community assets the community will be forced to spend funds on “negative” assets, like more jails.
The community leaders in Florence, working in concert with Superintendent Jackson, have developed a plan to address drop outs. They realize this plan is a beginning point and that strategies must constantly be reviewed and adjusted to reach their goal. The district and its partners in the community are supporting and promoting the steps necessary to help all students stay in school and graduate.
Call to Action
Purpose
Graduate Florence is the result of a community initiative to develop the best strategies to help youth connect to school and graduate. The initiative was lead by the Florence One Schools, Mayor’s Coalition to Prevent Juvenile Crime, National Drop Out Prevention Center, the State Department of Education, and the Education Foundation of Florence.
These groups worked together to form strategies and objectives for Florence School District One.
· Increased community involvement, including: parents, community organizations, business, faith based, law enforcement, community agencies, and public housing.
· A team of school and community personnel developed strategies for addressing drop outs.
· A team of school and community personnel developed an action plan to address these strategies.
Our community realizes that increasing graduation rates: reduces long term social costs for crime, incarceration, unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse;
assures all youth of the opportunity to lead a healthy and successful life; increases the community’s economic competitiveness. Our youth hold the future for our community, so working as a team to help youth is beneficial to everyone in the community.
School and Community Action Plan
The school and community have instituted the following programs/projects under the umbrella of “Graduate Florence” to help connect with youth, help youth find positive career goals, and increase the graduation rate. The three consistent themes in all projects are Rigor, Relevance and Relationships.
Smaller Learning Communities: Smaller Learning Communities were established in 2004-2005 in the high schools by developing schools within a school. The first was a “Freshman Academy” at each high school, where freshman worked together in a core curriculum and also in Academic Enhancement Class that had a curriculum of study skills, study of careers, career assessment, and positive habits. One assistant principal worked exclusively with the freshman. The importance of helping the freshman make the transition from middle school to high school was paramount. The smaller learning communities have now been aligned with the Education and Economic Development Act and students in grades 10-12 are housed on similar hallways based upon their career interest. The three schools house the sixteen career clusters of the Education and Economic Development Act. Freshman Academy is now the School of Foundational Studies and the three other schools are: School of Business; School of Engineering/Technology; School of Health Education and Human Services. Each School acts as a smaller learning community and is under the direction of one assistant principal.
High Schools That Work: Each Florence high school is engaged in working with this Education and Economic Development Act program that encourages connection to student’s careers choices and their academics. This program utilizes the student’s interests to help put them on the right track for seamless education K-16.
Making Middle Grades Work: Each Florence middle school is engaged in working with this Education and Economic Development Act program that encourages connection to student’s career choices and their academics. This program utilizes the student’s interests to help put them on the right track for a seamless education K-16.
Graduate Florence Academy: This program focuses on students who need a helping hand and have some very defined at risk factors for dropping out of school. Students rising to the high school are invited to this rigorous year long program to bring them up to the level of their peers and on track to graduate. Teachers work with small numbers of students in a computer based program that allows the student to “catch up” and achieve up to eight freshman high school credits. This academy serves all three high schools and is housed at South Florence High School.
Bridge Program 6th-7th: This program is a four week summer program designed to help rising seventh graders who exhibit at risk factors for dropping out. The program helps these transitional students get acclimated to
the middle school and receive academic booster sessions. The students also receive career instruction and are taken to local technical and four year colleges. Florence One’s middle schools (grades seven and eight) host this program and provide an excellent transition to middle school for students who need some extra help.
Bridge Program 8th-9th: This program is a four week summer program designed to help rising ninth graders who exhibit at risk factors for dropping out. The program helps these transitional students get acclimated to
the high school and receive academic booster sessions. The students also receive career instruction and are taken to local technical and four year colleges. Florence One’s high schools host the program and provide an excellent transition to high school for students who need some extra help.
Credit Recovery: The Credit Recovery program is a high school initiative that allows students who have failed a class (with a certain percentage) to work in individual computer programs with teacher assistance to “recover” the credit and get back on track. These Credit Recovery classes are offered during the school year and also during the summer at all three high schools.
After School Tutoring: High Schools, Middle Schools, and Elementary Schools offer before or after school tutoring to help students with academic courses. Mr. Jackson has some of the after school tutoring conducted in the community at public housing sites to increase participation, connect to parents, and take away the problem of transportation.
Teen Jobs Program: This is a summer jobs program conducted jointly by Florence One and the Mayor’s Coalition to Prevent Juvenile Crime that offers students in the credit recovery program a day of job skill training in interviewing, proper dress, teamwork, punctuality, and responsibility. Dept. of Juvenile Justice and Florence One work to secure part time jobs for the teens and their staff visit the students and employers to make the program work well.
Faith Based Mentoring Program: A program where members of the local faith community are trained as mentors in a program that coordinates with school principals to define how best to utilize those trained mentors to help children. All mentors go through a background check.
Rotary Mentoring Program: A program developed to help high school students by giving them direction in careers and help in academics. The Florence Rotary Club is a partner in this effort.
Parent Seminars & Workshops: These are developed outside of individual school parent meetings to help parents and schools work together for the children. Many of these efforts include training in Developmental Assets and parenting programs like Families and Schools Together.
Attendance Recovery: This program is offered to allow students to make up missed days due to illness and is coordinated through the high schools.
“Opening Doors to the Future”: This program is modeled after Greenville School District plan that works to get students who have not registered for high school at the end of the first week of classes back to the high school and registered. This program enlists volunteers from education, law enforcement, and the community to work as a team of three and visit the homes of the youth not registered for classes.
Graduate Florence Reconnection: This program reaches out to connect to youth who have dropped out of school and “reconnect” them to pathways that lead to a GED or high school diploma.
Drop Out Early Warning System (DEWS): This system developed by the National Drop Out Prevention Center helps identify students who are most at risk at dropping out of school through known at risk indicators. This will be piloted in the 2008-09 school year in Florence One. This will hopefully give us the data to assist students who need help in staying connected to school.