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Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

How we increased our graduation rate and student achievement

[Editor’s note: Welcome to our newest feature, Turnaround Tuesdays. Each week, we will share a story about how a district used technology in schools to improve something. Come back each week for insight on transforming everything from reading scores to wireless network performance.]

Demographics:

Miami-Dade County (FL) Public Schools (MDCPS) is the fourth-largest school district in the United States, comprised of 392 schools, 345,000 students, and over 40,000 employees. Located at the southern end of the Florida peninsula, the school district stretches over 2,000 square miles of diverse and vibrant communities ranging from rural and suburban to urban cities and municipalities. A truly global community, district students speak 56 different languages and represent 160 countries. Currently, the graduation rate of MDCPS is 89 percent.

Biggest challenge:

MDCPS’ challenge was to increase graduation rates so that at least 90 percent of students will graduate with a standard high school diploma by 2020. Additionally, that when they graduate, they are college and career ready to face the world in the 21st century.…Read More

Arizona district turns to tech to improve equity and access in college and career readiness

Beginning in the 2016-17 school year, all students in grades 9-12 in Dysart Unified School District in Maricopa County, Arizona, will be able to more effectively collaborate with school counselors to identify their strengths, plan academic coursework, determine career aspirations, find best-fit colleges, and discover scholarships using Naviance by Hobsons, a digital college and a career planning platform.

Having tripled in size since 2000, Dysart USD is recognized as one of the fastest-growing school systems in the state, serving a high population of Latinos and English Language Learners (ELLs), as well as first-generation college-bound students. Despite its unprecedented growth, the district has maintained an 85 percent graduation rate among its four comprehensive high schools. The district’s goal is to graduate all students ready for college, career, and a productive life in the 21st century.

“We take our responsibility to prepare students for the opportunities and challenges beyond high school graduation very seriously. We work as a community—of teachers, parents, students, and community leaders—to provide a supportive learning environment that empowers students to achieve life-long success,” said Dysart Superintendent Dr. Gail Pletnick, who was named Arizona Superintendent of the Year in 2015. “As we continue to grow and serve a more diverse student population, we consider Hobsons a strategic partner to help us scale our college and career readiness initiatives and inform our district-wide strategy, ensuring that all students are set up for success.”…Read More

Report: High school dropouts cost economy billions

The report said raising the nation’s average graduation rate to 90 percent would produce an additional $6.6 billion in economic growth.

High school dropouts are costing some $1.8 billion in lost tax revenue every year, education advocates said in a report released Feb. 25.

If states were to increase their graduation rates, state and federal lawmakers could be plugging their budgets with workers’ taxes instead of furloughing teachers, closing drivers-license offices, and cutting unemployment benefits. While advocates tend to focus on the moral argument that all children deserve a high-quality education, they could just as easily look at budgets’ bottom lines.

“This has huge economic implications,” said John Bridgeland, president and CEO of Civic Enterprises, a public policy group that helped write the report.…Read More

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Obama proposal to raise dropout age falls flat

Since Obama urged lawmakers to make students stay in school until graduation or age 18, only Maryland has approved a plan to raise the dropout age.

President Barack Obama’s call for states to raise the minimum age at which students can drop out of high school seems about as popular as a homework assignment on Friday afternoon.

Since the president urged the change in his State of the Union speech in January, only one state has raised its dropout age to 18, and that won’t take effect for five years.

Even legislators in Obama’s home state of Illinois wouldn’t go along with his proposal, despite an endorsement from the governor. They quickly dumped the issue into the limbo of a special study commission after it became clear there wasn’t enough money to support it.…Read More

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New bill focuses on U.S. graduation rates

Reports show that high school graduates have a positive impact on local and state economies.

New legislation introduced in Congress proposes to reduce the U.S. high school dropout rate in an effort to reach a national graduation rate of 90 percent. The bill also would require states to use a consistent method to report graduation data.

The Every Student Counts Act, introduced April 7 by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Rep. Robert Scott, D-Va., notes that according to a 2008 Department of Labor report, by 2016 almost 90 percent of the fastest-growing and best-paying jobs in the country will require at least some postsecondary education.

Track the bill’s progress in the U.S. House of Representatives here, and in the U.S. Senate here.…Read More

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High school graduation rate is increasing, report shows

The U.S. high school graduation rate has increased for the first time in 40 years.

Higher standards, better data use, and more parent engagement are among the strategies responsible for the first significant improvement in America’s high school graduation rate in 40 years, a new report suggests.

America’s Promise Alliance, Civic Enterprises, and Johns Hopkins University’s Everyone Graduates Center banded together to release the report, titled “Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic.”

The graduation rate of U.S. high school students increased from 72 percent in 2002 to 75 percent in 2008, according to the new data. The report also says there has been a decline in the number of “dropout factories,” or schools in which the graduation rate is at or below 50 percent. Dropout factories only make up about 10 percent of all U.S. high schools but account for half of the country’s dropouts. There were 261 fewer dropout factories in 2008 than there were in 2002—a decrease of about 13 percent, according to the report.…Read More

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Ed-tech grant program aims to boost college readiness

The Educause-backed program will fund ed-tech projects designed to make high school graduates college ready.
The Educause-backed program will fund ed-tech projects designed to make high school graduates college ready.

Six months after the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pumped $3.6 million into a national certification program for teachers of remedial college courses, a new initiative will dole out grants to education-technology projects aimed at improving college readiness, especially among low-income students.

The Next Gen Learning Challenges program, launched in late June and headed by nonprofit education technology supporter Educause, will aim to raise America’s high school graduation rate – which hovers around 50 percent among Hispanic, African American, and low-income students – and ensure that college freshmen are ready for higher education without having to take non-credit-bearing remedial classes.

Only half of Americans who enroll in a postsecondary school will earn a degree, according to national statistics, with as few as 25 percent of low-income students completing a degree program.…Read More

Plan to stem dropout rate stirs controversy

Only about 70 percent of high school freshmen go on to graduate, the White House says.
Only about 70 percent of high school freshmen go on to graduate, the White House says.

The Obama administration is offering a $900 million carrot to the nation’s school systems to tackle what many view as an abysmal dropout rate that threatens America’s ability to compete in the new global economy. But it’s the “stick” portion of the administration’s plan that has rankled many educators.

Districts would get the money only if they agree to one of four plans to dramatically change or even shut down their worst performing schools. One of these plans involves firing the principal and at least half of the staff members at a struggling school—a turnaround plan that captured national attention when it was tried by the Central Falls, R.I., school system last week.

President Obama took aim at the nation’s school dropout epidemic in a March 1 speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. During the event—which was sponsored by the America’s Promise Alliance, a youth-oriented organization founded by former Secretary of State Colin Powell and his wife, Alma—Obama noted the economic impact that dropouts have on America’s ability to compete.…Read More

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