NICHOLAS Drop-out prevention project progress March 2013 NDPC SD and WVDE

NICHOLAS COUNTY Rural enrollment % white, 0.51% are black and 0.46% are other. 62% free and/or reduced meals 18% SWD

Our Team Gene Collins Attendance Director/Social Director * Nancy Losh-Teacher/Recorder Bill Dobbins-HS Principal /Coach Tom Bayless-Special Ed Coordinator/Behavior/Discipline Erin Hickman-MS Counselor Bethany King-MS Principal Team Leader * Christina Bailey-Elem. Principal/Data Kathy Sibbett-Special Ed. Director/Administrator Kandy Rapp-HS counselor Kristina Dotson- HS teacher Beverly Kingery- Superintendent

Starting points(before the project) Gradrate YearSWDAll %72% %70% Drop outnumbers YearAll

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NDPC-SD Technical Assistance

Research Areas of focus  Reduce failure rate English and math classes  Increase achievement scores WESTEST reading and math  Improve social/emotional well being

Things we shared------** stood out to the team achievement rates **achievement gap all vs. SWD rates RLA/Math dropout rates ** improvements made in last few years class failure rates ** in Math biological sciences Other data sources: Culture survey both high schools Drop out survey data (dislike of school #1 reason for drop out)

Dropout Factors Attendance and Truancy Prevention Behavior Course Performance- Academic Content and Instruction Student Engagement Parent Engagement School Climate Students indicated they did not like school because they were not involved in sports or extra curricular areas. They were disengaged with school leading to the perception they were unpopular or not cared for by others. Academically, students (especially SWD ) indicated the work in RLA and math classes was too difficult and they did not receive enough assistance in subjects in which they struggled.

Interventions Expanded learning opportunities  Saturday attendance  Alternative school in two locations  Virtual courses  Homebound instruction/support  Community work based learning  After school programs  At risk interventionists all secondary

Key Data  Superintendent/BOE staff information  NCLB private site grad rate and drop out rate  NCLB achievement data from private site for individual schools  WVEIS queries on course failure rate- both high schools When comparing data, we compared to state data in all areas in which it was available to us.

Initial Plan Initial focus covered broad areas of improvement in achievement scores and improvement needed in the areas of social emotional wellbeing for students. We had some drop out prevention programs in place (court/options pathways). Team had strong consensus that academic improvement was the big area that needed assistance.

Plan Revisions Narrowed our focus Added more steps/strategies that were doable at secondary school level. Separated strategies and tailored them for schools. Improved evaluation component of plan by addition of more concrete data collection in order to evaluate strategy effectiveness.

Final Plan Eliminated one step/program; too overwhelming for schools at moment Added extra alternative school programs (Saturday school, virtual, alternative sites, afterschool programs, combinations of all) Continued at risk interventionists at all middle and high school Increased intensive SPL and behavior/strategy training at all schools/principals.

Plan Evaluation and Adjustments Phase I: Initial Plan Graduation rate increased 4% for all, including SWD Implementation of RLA program not implemented Phase II: Revised Plan- Did not meet WESTEST goal in Math/Eng Co-teaching Math/English, 100% both HS Student mentor program developing in both HS Decreased Drop out rate slightly Phase III: Final Plan - Clubs established at both HS- attendance good SWD projected Grad rate high at NCHS; d/o SWD low

County Developed Resources/Tools

WVDE: Cohort Document and Data Reviewed lists for reasons for dropout. Cumbersome. does not mark students as SWD, or Low SES etc. Improvement suggestions Give verbage instead of number codes for ease of use. Mark students in columns provided

WVDE: Early Warning System Tool Some Principals trained- usage is not high among these EWS Principal training scheduled Schools use self assessment, lists and SAT/SPL process to indicate at risk students in need of assistance in any area.

Use of Funds Used for PD for book study with all Principals and stipends/subs Speaker for all personnel/ stipends/subs Plans to use for PD SPL training / co-teaching training

Data Trends-Dropout academic difficulty and dislike of school consistently top two

Projected Graduation/Dropout Results Drop Out Data so far! Drop Out/Graduation Trends # drop outs % graduation rate

Moving Forward and Next Steps Nicholas Co. continues to: Require drop out conference with superintendent before drop out status is approved Work with court system and DHHR to target students in trouble and at risk for drop out/failure Provide academic/at risk interventionists at all grade levels all schools Provide alternate learning environments for students who do not do well in ‘traditional’ school programming Provide support in every HS math and English class with Special ed Collab teacher Nicholas Needs to: Inform all principals of current graduation rate statistics/trends Brainstorm other ideas to increase grad rates- principals’ meeting, 5 yr plan focus requirement Strengthen mentorship of middle and high school students More frequent grade and credit checks

Key Components of Plan Development Drop out conferences with administration. 1:1 face to face Provide academic support to struggling readers at middle and high school level Increase reading and math support at early elementary level (SPL that really works!)

Key Components for Maintenance Continue  Alternatives to ‘traditional’ programming  And refine EWS usage  To involve all staff at all schools  To provide consistent early intervention to struggling students at early age and throughout all grade levels

Lessons Learned Schedule regular meetings or gatherings before the year starts and publish these dates Reduce the number of committee members Establish committees at each school with a county liaison identified Stick with a good solid plan

Contact Information Beverly Kingery- Superintendent Kathy Sibbett- Special Ed Director

Thank you !