Mason County March 2013 NDPC SD and WVDE

Our County No longer on Channels 3, 8, &13 Working together, working better Reducing special education student dropout numbers Increasing graduations numbers

Our Team John Lehew – Special Education Director Dawn Anderson – County Attendance Director Charles Towner – Attendance Coordinator Kim Browning – Elementary Counselor Jessie Dillion – High School Counselor Craig Hesson - Special Education Specialist

Starting Points (before the project) graduation rate SWD 48.4 ALL 73.9 SWD dropouts 23, All dropouts 58 Special Education graduation and dropout were both a concern for our county and they continue to be. Before this project began, the individual schools attempted deal with dropout/graduation concerns typically through their school counselors.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NDPC-SD Technical Assistance

Research Everything was new to us. The SWD dropout numbers and graduation rates were eye opening. We knew we had issues in those areas and were looking for answers as to how to correct them, but we didn’t know where to begin. The research helped give us the direction we needed. The information was there, but we hadn’t drilled down through the layers to find any solutions.

Dropout Factors Attendance and Truancy Prevention Behavior Course Performance- Academic Content and Instruction Student Engagement Parent Engagement School Climate We have continued to focus on the same areas once again this year. Our focus has been on parent involvement, student engagement and academic engagement. We have seen positive development through this focus and we want to continue to build onto it.

Initial Plan Our initial plan focused on Academic Engagement, Student Engagement and Parent /Family Engagement. Academic Engagement focused on increasing quality co-teaching and after school activities for struggling students. Student Engagement focused on building a sense of belonging and connection to the school through linking students with caring/committed staff. Parent/Family Engagement focused on making parents/family feel more welcome when they come to the school as well as better awareness of school and student activities through different media. The funding that first year went into travel and expenses for the team, trainings and supplies, tutoring.

Plan Revisions When we first developed our plan we were trying to address our entire county. It was too large of a project. After guidance from WVDE we focused our attention on New Haven Elementary and Wahama High School. This renewed focus allowed us to dig in deeper and at the same time apply programs from what we had learned in a county wide fashion.

Final Plan Our final plan is to continue to focus on academic, student and family engagement. We plan on continuing to build relationships between the students and the school and parents. We have an increased emphasis on academic engagement – our co-teaching is improving (we have co-teaching coaches in place at our high schools) plus the ZAP and Patch programs are still in place. In addition, we have also been able to implement credit recovery opportunities and the WV On Target programs. Our Alternative School has been restructured. Also, in coordination with the Day Report Program, we offer a 6 week Drug Prevention Program for all students who fail drug test.

Plan Evaluation and Adjustments The saying goes “the proof is in the pudding”. When looking at whether or not our programs are being effective in Mason County, one just has to look at our improving SWD graduation rates and decreasing dropout rates. Parent participation increase has been seen in IEP attendance and other individual meetings.

County Developed Resources/Tools Our county developed a Custodial Care program for our students interested in the Career Center programs. We have developed new Attendance and Dropout Prevention brochures. We redesigned our Alternative Education Program with new personnel and new focus.

WVDE: Cohort Document and Data The lists have been helpful especially in looking for a place to start and direction to go. Having the data readily available has allowed a more efficient review and study of our county’s issues. One issue that is not addressed that would increase graduation rate state wide is a means of not having the SWD returning to school up to their 21 st birthday count against it.

WVDE: Early Warning System Tool We have only just recently gained access to the system, but we feel that it will be a valuable tool for us. We intend to utilize it along with other available information to better reach our students before they reach the so called point of no return.

Use of Funds Funds for all three years, have been used to cover travel and training; tutoring programs; licenses for student use programs; and before, after and Saturday school programs.

Data Trends-Graduation Graduation rates in Mason county are improving across the board. Our all graduation rate has improved 7.93 percentage points from the 2009 cohort to the 2011 cohort. The SWD grew 17.2 percentage points for the same period of time! All data is found in the NCLB Private and Public Data sites 2009 cohort 2010 cohort 2011 cohort All SWD

Data Trends-Dropout Dropout rates in Mason County have decreased. The all population has dropped by 16 students. The SWD has dropped by 18 since the year before we began this process (2008 cohort had 23 SWD dropouts). Data is found in the NCLB Private Data and the Annual Desk Audit sites. Drop outs2009 cohort2010 cohort2011 cohort All SWD1205

Projected Graduation/Dropout Results We know and realize that the numbers will fluctuate, but we anticipate graduation rates to continue to increase and dropout rates to remain low. For this school year, we currently have no SWD dropouts at our focus school and county wide we have 3 SWD dropouts

Key Components of Plan Development Our recommendation would be to truly drill down into the data to discover areas for improvement. We knew there was a problem, but until we took the time to really look at ourselves and our data, we couldn’t focus on a plan of action. Do not wait on funding, there are many things that can be done with just a personal touch.

Key Components for Maintenance We plan on keeping a dropout prevention team in place and to continue to monitor and develop the programs we are working at this time. Continued development of more effect co- teaching. We need to stay focused and informed through tools such as the Early Warning system, ADA and NCLB data. Consistency – We have a Special Education director who is staying with us and is focused on student growth and development.

Lessons Learned One of the biggest hurdles we have to face is dealing with a court system that encourages students to dropout when they have been brought up on truancy charges. It is getting better, but it is still an issue.

Contact Information Mason County Schools John Lehew 1200 Main Street Point Pleasant, WV 25550

Thank you !