Early Warning System and ABCs of DROPOUT PREVENTION PRESENTED BY: Sara Harper, WVEIS Coordinator, WVDE Rebecca Derenge, Attendance Coordinator, WVDE Jack Wiseman, WVPASS Coordinator, Dept. of Education and the Arts

Agenda Statistics Dropout Prevention Initiatives ABC Framework Early Warning Tool-WOW Graduation Cohort

What? West Virginia Department of Education YearGraduation Rate % % % % %

What? West Virginia Department of Education YearDropout Rate % (3,527) % (3,353) % (2,729) % (2,114) % (1,877)

So, What?  Projected continued dropouts  At this rate, next ten years over 35,000 will drop out of WV schools.  Cost (nationally)  Each class of dropouts cost $55 million in healthcare.  80% of dropouts end up in prison  12 millions students who will drop out over the next decade will cost the nation $3 trillion dollars.

Dropout Prevention Initiatives WVDE partnered with the Supreme Court of Appeals and Judicial Systems to create Community Awareness and Action on truancy and dropout prevention. School-based probation officers serve in eight counties: Cabell, Logan, Mercer, Greenbrier, Monongalia, Wayne, Boone and Putnam. Juvenile Drug Courts are operating in Boone/Lincoln, Brooke/Hancock, Cabell, Greenbrier/Pocahontas, Harrison, Jefferson, Kanawha, Logan, Mercer, Monongalia, Putnam, Randolph, Wayne, Wood and McDowell counties.

Dropout Prevention Initiatives Alternative education programs enrolled 3,558 students during the school year. The 4-Year graduation average for alternative education students is 72.7%

Dropout Prevention Initiatives A total of $2.5 million dollars in Dropout Innovation Zone Grants was appropriated by the WV Legislature WVDE partnered with several advocacy organizations: – Education Alliance Frontline Network – Communities Unite for High School Success and Dropout Prevention in West Virginia – Legal Aid of West Virginia through “Youth M.O.V.E. West Virginia” – Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC) to co-host Student Success Summit July 30-31, 2014

Dropout Prevention Initiatives West Virginia Department of Education Virtual School currently offers 43 credit recovery courses. – West Virginia students registered for 2246 credit recovery courses during the school year. Twenty-five counties registered students for credit recovery courses during the school year

Dropout Initiatives Mountaineer Challenge Academy - offering struggling students an alternative way to receive a West Virginia Diploma. Mountaineer Challenge Academy graduated 124 students in Dec.,2013 with a West Virginia High School Diploma through the Option Pathway.

Dropout Prevention Initiatives In , 10,339 students graduated with EDGE (Earn a Degree-Graduate Early) credits, and 193 students applied for EDGE credits at a West Virginia community and technical college

Dropout Prevention Initiatives Career Technical Education Opportunities expanded High Schools that Work to 25 sites expanded Technical Center that Work from 7 to 14 sites expanded Advanced Career Programs from 3 to 12 high schools Implementation for school year of 44 Simulated Workplace pilot sites

Dropout Prevention Initiative a review by Attendance Directors and significance to drop-out prevention of the West Virginia Board of Education’s Drivers’ License Certification Policy 4150 that includes requirements for attendance, behavior and course performance in order for students to receive their drivers’ permits

Dropout Prevention Initiative The Option Pathway by which a student receives both a High School Diploma and a State Equivalency Diploma (formally GED) The Option Pathway is a blend of Career Technical Education (CTE) and the state approved high school equivalency assessment (HSEA). Over 1124 students were enrolled in the Option Pathway during the school year, with over 553 Option Pathway seniors earning high school diplomas. 125 students received a high school equivalency diploma before leaving high school.

Option Pathway Only students who receive the State of West Virginia High School Equivalency Diploma under Option Pathway I and II will graduate with a regular high school diploma and will therefore be counted as graduates.

ABC Framework A ttendance B ehavior C ourse Performance

Attendance  Relates to disengagement  Kindergartener’s missing 30 or more days of school  Need to create a culture of attendance  This is a life and job readiness skill  Legal consequences after 5 unexcused absences  Many contributing factors : substance abuse, family problems, depression, pregnancy, boredom, social anxiety,

Behavior  Can be a barrier to learning  All behavior is purposeful (family problems, substance abuse, learning problems, boredom, child abuse etc.)  Need to learn the purpose of the behavior to change it  The more time out of class the more they fall behind

Course Performance Progression of learning On track or Off track to graduate Acquiring basic skills to build upon Basic Math and Literacy Skills are required to pass a GED test Some need additional help Some need a different level Some need a different teacher

Defaults for Early Warning System A – Attendance B – Behavior C – Course Performance Attendance – 10% days absent. This includes excused and unexcused absences. – The option will be given to break the absences down by unexcused and excused – The option will be given to change the percentage to number of days absent Behavior – 2 or more suspensions that are level 2 or above – The option will be given to designate the level of the behavior and number of occurrences Course Performance – Failure of Math and English in a marking period – The option will be given to also look at Science and Social Studies

Defaults for Early Warning System Behavior – 2 or more suspensions that are level 2 or above – The option will be given to designate the level of the behavior and number of occurrences Course Performance – Failure of Math and English in a marking period – The option will be given to also look at Science and Social Studies

Early Warning System the Early Warning System is available to all counties and is a web-based tool to help educators identify at-risk students grades 6-12 from research-based indicators (attendance, behavior and course performance)

Example Login screen for WOW

WOW menu

Tab added to WOW

Early Warning System color coding: Red = student has all 3 ABCs (attendance, behavior, and course code failures) Orange – Student has 2 ABC’s Yellow – Student has 1 ABC

Early Warning System drop down menu

Early Warning System drop down menu (continued)

Early Warning drop down menu (continued)

Graduation Cohort a continuing discussion of the study being conducted on the graduation cohort as part of the High School Graduation Improvement Act signed into law under HB 4593 beginning with the freshman cohort and raising the dropout age from 16 to 17 New Cohort Document can be found at: 20Cohort%20Guidance_ pdf

COHORT Total # of 16 year olds who dropped out*694*359*86 Total # of 9 th Graders who were 16 years old who dropped out *344*125*25 Total # of 16 year olds included in the 9 th grade cohort to be impacted by raising the compulsory school age to 17 *1231*1165 *These figures are calculated using students’ birthdates

4-Year Adjusted Cohort Rate

5-Year Adjusted Cohort Rate

ESEA Graduation Targets Used Beginning in the Accountability Year 4-Year Cohort 85.0% 5-Year Cohort 87.5% Calculation based on improvement p. 14

Contact Information Sara Harper Rebecca Derenge Jack Wiseman