1. One districts approach to teach to the Whole Child Academically & Emotionally.

6.  Campus Level Intervention (tutorials, Study Islands, etc..)  Mentor/Life Coach Program  Collegiate Coach – works with off-track students by cohort  Home Visits  Credit Recovery Program  A+ / Virtual courses  Night School 4:00pm-9:00pm Mon - Thurs  Academic Grad Plans  Conference & Maintained  Grades 6th-12 th

7.  Monitor and Track student data  Student Data Tracking  5th – 12 th On-Track Status  Enrolled students  Combined cohorts  Cohort Status Tracking  Enrolled and withdrawn students  Report per cohort

13.  Community Forums  Recovery Walk  Student Success Summit  Community Business/Agency Presentations  Relationship with the Court System  Parent Support Sessions  Campus Student Relationship

17. The Whole Child: A New Direction in Education United Way Community Initiative Grant

18.  Midland Independent School District  Office of Accountability  Office of Dropout Prevention  Education Foundation  Rays of Hope, Children’s Grief Center  Communities in Schools of the Permian Basin  United Way of Midland

19.  Train ALL staff  Recognize indicators in regards to grief issues  Identify the needs of grieving students  Learn how to utilize appropriate coping tools.  Organize Grief Support meetings for students  Committed family assistance  Provide our shadowed students with a face they can rely on

21. Student Grief Sessions Meet twice a month during lunch No Lectures….Just Voice Time.

22.  Rays of Hope – A local Non-profit agency partnered with our district to help the discussion of grief become accepted.  Trained every campus.  Provided tools & resources  Training continues for new staff and refresher training for the counseling staff.  Provided added support during crisis situations  Provide added ways to incorporate the discussion of grief in the set curriculum  Campus Presentations to students – In the works.

23.  Communities In Schools  Continued support with Student Assistance  Work with the “Most” At=Risk  Organized Challenge Day at one High School Campus  Participate in Student Grief Group sessions  Introduced and Expanded XY Zone Program to the high schools

24.  Midland ISD  Flexible Scheduling  Collegiate Coach positions to assist counselors with the “Most” At-Risk students  Credit Recovery Program at no charge and available at night.  Available scheduling opportunities with outside agencies to provide training/support.  Introduced a new position – A Crisis Counselor

25.  Midland ISD  Dropout Prevention Fast Fwd Presentations  Be A Hero Be A Graduate 5 th Grade  Discuss how an increasing number of students in schools across America are struggling to stay in school.  Share the understanding of the troublesome life lived by pre-teens today Few have a dream, surviving today is all Teen Parents Poverty Friends with the “Shoulda” attitude Gangs and Violence  Fulfilling their self fulfilling prophecies  Proving discouraging entities wrong  Making your family and YOURSELF PROUD  Recognizing they are in control of their future  Understanding how they handle their life today, can impact their future  Knowing they can always press Fast Forward in their mind to see what their future may be but can never rewind  Emphasis on the power of their VOICE and to use it when they need help

26.  Midland ISD  Dropout Prevention Fast Fwd Presentations  Learn to Laugh Again 6 th Grade  Discuss how students struggle to focus in school due to the emotional baggage they do not know how to manage.  Share the understanding of Cultural challenges Ancestry beliefs Being brushed aside Drama Queen & King labels  Understanding that they are not alone with the issues they are dealing with  Knowing when they need help to reach out to a TRUSTING adult  Recognizing the power of their VOICE not only to help themselves but others  Emphasis on the "bystander" witnessing bullying - to stand up and get help when they see someone in trouble

27.  Midland ISD  Learn to Laugh Again Student Grief Groups  Twice month during lunch  Time for Adult and Peer support  Counselors, Collegiate Coaches, CIS, Dropout Prevention Coordinator and Youth pastors involved  Not a set curriculum, just a time to be heard  Follow-up with parents  Referrals to medical professionals as needed  Emphasizing the point that they are never alone.  Proving Caring individuals exist, they just need to find the one that fits best for them.

29.  100% of the students liked the group  Students expressed the following  They had a place to be heard  They could express themselves better  They could speak without people passing judgment  They felt discussions were relatable  They could express emotions freely  They were taken seriously  They felt important

30.  Though we know a students emotions impact their everyday, it is hard to reflect with certainty in data such as:  Test scores  Attendance  Discipline  Credit Attainment  Dropout Status  Etc…

31.  We can see change in the individual student which then reflects in their everyday life such as:  Healing scars  Speaking / Making Friends  Walking with their head up  Pulling hair away from eyes  Reaching out more  Less confrontational  Staying Alive

37. Deborah A. Acosta Dropout Prevention / Recovery & At-Risk Coordinator daacosta@midlandisd.net 432-689-1980