Re-Engaging Dropouts: Local Innovations &

New Opportunities for Federal Policy

April 4, 2014

@AYPF_Tweets#aypfevents

April 4, 2014

PROMISING DEVELOPMENTS IN DROPOUT RE-ENGAGEMENT

Andrew O. Moore, Senior FellowInstitute for Youth, Education, and FamiliesNational League of Cities

Supported by the C.S. Mott Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation

Responses to dropout rates

Address chronic absence as key precondition Early warning systems & interventions

Middle school and 9th grade Ongoing high school reform

Engagement, dual enrollment strategies Expansion of accelerated / on track options

and other alternative settings Recovery and re-engagement

Dropout ReengagementSpreading Across U.S.

Working Definition: Reengagement Center/Program

Staffed portal Operates at the citywide

or school district level Provides one-stop

outreach, assessment, referral, re-enrollment, and continued support services

Restores educationally disconnected youth and young adults to best fit options to complete credentials

Policy Platforms

School district Intermediary / NGO City government Community college Combinations of above

School district, community college per-pupil funding

Foundation Workforce development Federal HSGI grants State government – two

states Child welfare In kind: VISTAs

Management Role Funding Sources

Range of Approaches

Physical “one stop” center

Deployed staffing model

NGO contracts with school districts

Center co-located with alternative school

Re-engagement Ecosystem

Re-engagement

portal – virtual or physical

Social support services

Physical, behavioral

health services

Alternative schools, adult

education

Training programs leading to

postsecondary credential

Washington StateOpen Doors Youth Reengagement Combines dropout outreach and assessment

functions with alternative education at one site Began with three pilots; 19 additional programs

GRAVITY High School - Regional school district, consortium model

iGRAD - partnership between Kent School District and Green River Community College – shopping mall

Expanded Gateway to College program at Lake Washington Institute of Technology

Online “Drop In” Campaigns: Now in Denver, Boulder, & Aurora, Colorado

Measuring effectiveness andimpact: common indicators

Credits earned once re-enrolled

Stick rate/ persistence (first year completion)

Graduation / GED completion

Initial contact/engagement

Race, ethnicity, gender Child welfare system

involvement

Results Process / Demographics

Aggregating Results:Reengagement in 13 U.S. Cities,School Years 2012-2013Initial outreach: 41,000

Referral to re-enrollment opportunity: 10,000

Confirmed re-enrollments: 6,000

“Stick rate” / persistence: 73%

Los Angeles Unified School DistrictPupil Services City Partnership

Dropout: A National Problem

• 1.2 million students did not graduate from high school in 2011

• lost lifetime earnings for that class of dropouts alone total $154 billion1

• 1 in 10 U.S. high schools is a dropout factory2

1Alliance for Excellent Education, The High Cost of High School Dropouts (2011)

2Balfanz and Legters (2004)

18,529 Students in the

Class of 2011 and 2012 that dropped out of

school

31,727 Students have missed more than 10 days of

school since the beginning of the school

year

13,794 Homeless Students

8,278 Foster Youth

Our Stude

nts

Dropouts by Ethnicity 2010-2011 2011-2012

Race/Ethnicity Cohort Students

Cohort Dropouts

Cohort Dropouts Rate

Cohort Students

Cohort Dropouts

Cohort Dropouts Rate

Hispanic or Latino of Any

Race31,717 7,513 23.7 32,047 6,440 20.1

American Indian or Alaska Native,

Not Hispanic226 56 24.8 178 41 23

Asian, Not Hispanic 1,786 174 9.7 1,676 146 8.7

Pacific Islander, Not Hispanic 150 35 23.3 186 34 18.3Filipino, Not

Hispanic 1,139 85 7.5 1,123 84 7.5African

American, Not Hispanic

4,562 1,211 26.5 4,329 1,070 24.7White, Not Hispanic 3,341 570 17.1 3,088 650 21

Two or More Races, Not

Hispanic, Not Hispanic

26 13 50 16 12 75

Not Reported 150 86 57.3 455 271 59.6

Annual Dropouts by Grade

  Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12

2011-2012 499 393 2,516 3,079 2,747 4,113

2010-2011 401 377 3,003 2,990 3,072 3,533

City of Los Angeles 100, 000 Youth between the ages of 16-

24

Out of schooland

Out of work

1 in 5

Finding a solution•City of Los Angeles sought collaboration

with Pupil Services Dropout Recovery Efforts

•Los Angeles EWDD realigned Workforce Investment Funds to serve as a dropout recovery model

•New formula required agencies to serve 70% out of school youth and 30% in school youth.

•Released RFP that included the placement of an LAUSD PSA Counselor at every site

Workforce Innovation Fund •City was awarded $12 million to develop a

Dropout Recovery and Career Pathways model ▫Los Angeles Reconnections Career

Academy •Addition of 3 PSA Counselors•Targets students age 16-24•Career Pathways

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