April 2006

Letter from the Director

Dear Readers:

In this edition of NCSE-News you will find information related to school engagement at the high school level. NCSE's approach to school engagement is based on integrating three elements necessary to school success: Attendance, Attachment, and Achievement (aka 3 A's of School Engagement). This approach leads to increased parental involvement in schools, community collaboration, and promotes best practices. Much of what we know about the 3 A's of school engagement is based on research at the elementary and middle school levels. What is needed to engage high school students has generated much interest, especially with the recent release of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's study, The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts. This study provides insights on why high school students drop out of school and what might have helped them stay in school.

I found it validating that the findings of The Silent Epidemic study were directly linked to the 3 A's of School Engagement. In the area of parental involvement the study noted, 71% surveyed felt that one of the keys to keeping students in school was to have better communication between the parents and the school, and increasing parental involvement in their child's education. Less than half said their school contacted their parents (or them) when they were absent (47 percent) or when they dropped out (48 percent). This information suggests that we need to do a better job of involving parents at the high school level. Parents and high school administrators tell me that parental involvement is at its highest at the elementary level and it declines from there. A primary reason is that school administrators and families are unsure what meaningful parental involvement looks like at the high school level. This month's feature article, Kentucky Teens and Parents Examine Parent Involvement at High School Level, explores this very topic. Also see the Resources and Research section below for additional information.

To address school attendance and achievement, the Gates Foundation study suggests that states should consider raising the age at which students can legally leave school as a means to increase expectations related to high school graduation. See the featured article, Compulsory Education Facts, for more information on this subject.

Your help in promoting school engagement at the high school level is welcomed. Please email me at info@schoolengagement.org with your suggestions, ideas, and examples of what's working in your community. I will feature your responses in the May edition of NCSE-News.

Happy Spring!

Judith Martinez
Director of The National Center for School Engagement

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Kentucky Teens and Parents Examine
Parent Involvement at High School Level
Prepared by Rachel Belin
Director, Youth News Team

A group of Lexington, KY high school students and parents recently released the results of an original study examining the relationship of parents to high school achievement. After formal presentations to the Fayette County School Board and the Kentucky Commissioner of Education, members of the Youth News Team said their research shows why parents and high school students need each other to achieve academic success. "We want to get the word out that high school kids need their parents as much as younger students do," said Tiffany Duncan, 17. "The question at this level, though, is what exactly parent involvement that helps teens succeed academically looks like. Our study closely examines that."

The report, High School Students Have Parents Too, includes interviews with policy experts, focus groups with parents and students and a scientific survey that was completed by nearly 4,000 students at five Lexington public high schools.

Among the Youth News Team's findings:

• Sixty-nine percent of students with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher (equivalent to a B+) report having parents who regularly help them select classes.
  
• Sixty-one percent of students with GPAs over 3.5 report sitting down with their families three or more times per week for dinner versus 31% of students with GPAs below 2.5 (equivalent to a C+).

The members of the Youth News Team were selected from the leadership programs of the Kentucky Conference of Community and Justice and the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence. The collaboration was forged to support students to spearhead public discussion of education policy.

"Students are the greatest stakeholders in public education debates, yet we are rarely consulted on any important issues that affect us," stated Chauncey Morton, 17. Added her mother, Debra Morton, who also worked on the study: "Our project perfectly models the power of parents and students joining forces to make our schools better."

High School Students Have Parents Too can be downloaded at www.youthnewsteam.com

Members of the Youth News Team in Kentucky

Compulsory Education Facts
Prepared by Jodi Heilbrunn,
NCSE Senior Research and Policy Analyst

The Silent Epidemic explicitly calls for a "re-examination of the compulsory school age requirements." Such a re-examination has, in fact, been occurring in a number of states. Over the last couple of years several states have changed their laws including Florida, Nebraska, Rhode Island and Tennessee. Several others, including Colorado and New Hampshire, are considering the possibility. These facts should be of interest to politicians, school administrators, and community advocates as they weigh the issues involved.

FACTS

Although 16 remains the most common upper bound for compulsory education laws, many states have already increased the age requirement. States also vary in the age at which the youngest students are required to begin their education. Most states require school beginning at six years old, but some do not mandate school attendance until the age of eight.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Labor as quoted by John Bridgeland, John Dilulio and Karen Morrison in The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts, March 2006.

Summary of State Compulsory Education Laws

Age until which schooling is required by law*	Number of States
16	24
17	8
18	8

*Note: Many states have exceptions that allow students to withdraw at younger ages with parental consent.

Researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research have shown that the compulsory school age DOES work to keep kids in school longer. They did this by showing that children with birthdays that fall later in the year, allowing them to begin school at a younger age, actually complete more school than those who just miss the kindergarten cut-off. They conclude that 25% of potential dropouts remain in school because of compulsory education laws.
Source: Angrist, J. D. & Krueger, A. B. (1990, December). Does compulsory school attendance affect schooling and earnings? Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

The State of Illinois increased its compulsory education law to apply to children up to age 17, up from 16 in 2001. The results were dramatic. Their graduation rate jumped a full 2% in the first complete school year to which the new law applied. Those gains continued in subsequent years.
Source: Office of the Governor of the State of Illinois

Illinois Graduation Rates Change from previous year

Year	Illinois Graduation Rates	Change from previous year
2005	87.4%	0.8%
2004	86.6%	0.6%
2003	86.0%	0.8%
2002*	85.2%	2.0%
2001	83.2%	0.6%
2000	82.6%	0.7%

*Note: First full academic year to which change applied.

Applying RAND's cost of high school dropout, an increase of 2% in the national graduation rate would result in more than 82,000 additional graduates which would yield a savings of over $16.5 billion for one year alone.

When youth are not in school, daytime crime is significant. In Denver, over 62% of daytime crime among juveniles occurs between 7:30 AM and 3:30 PM.

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Hot Topics

National Truancy Prevention Contest

NCSE is hosting a national truancy prevention contest. The purpose is to find out what posters and printed materials communities are using to support truancy prevention and/or to promote the importance of school attendance. NCSE hopes to learn more about outreach and public awareness activities designed to promote a community standard for school attendance.

Who should apply: Groups who are currently using or have developed posters and printed materials to address truancy or promote school attendance. NCSE is not asking groups to develop materials for this contest.

Entry deadline: Friday, April 21, 2006

Entry process: Complete Entry Form and email, fax, or mail it to NCSE by April, 21, 2006. Click here for copy of the entry form.

Prizes: Awards will be given in three categories: Community campaign; School district/area-wide campaigns; and Individual school campaigns. A panel of community leaders and educators will judge the entries based on originality, creativity, and marketing appeal. Contest winners will receive national recognition.

Questions? Please contact Judith Martinez, email: jmartinez@coloradofoundation.org. or call toll free - 1-888-272-0454, ext. 105.

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Funding Opportunities

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

The Catalog is a government-wide compendium of Federal programs, projects, services, and activities that contains financial and non-financial assistance programs administered by departments and establishments of the Federal government. The Catalog can be searched by Federal agency, functional area, eligibility, application deadline, type of assistance, and other criteria.

Resources and Research

The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts
This 2006 report is by Civic Enterprises in association with Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It is based on surveys of nearly 470 dropouts throughout the country. It examines why they left school, and what might help students stay in school.

Center for Parent Leadership (CPL) at The Prichard Committee is a division within the non-profit Prichard Committee. Since 1997, a key part of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence's advocacy strategy in Kentucky has been the Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership (CIPL), an initiative that trains and supports parent activists to help improve achievement in their schools and to be advocates for statewide reform. CPL was created in response to numerous requests for advice and assistance from outside of Kentucky.

High School Outreach and Family Involvement
When high schools reach out to involve parents, are parents more likely to become involved in their teenagers' education? Based on the 1988 National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS), findings revealed that regardless of students' background or achievement, high schools' outreach positively and significantly predicted parents' involvement in a range of parenting, volunteering, and learning activities at home.

Engaging Schools: Fostering High School Students' Motivation to Learn This book discusses what changes hold the greatest promise for increasing students' motivation to learn in these schools. It looks at various approaches to reform through different methods of instruction and assessment, adjustments in school size, vocational teaching, and other key areas. Examples of innovative schools, classrooms, and out-of-school programs that have proved successful in getting high school kids excited about learning are also included. To review summary of the book click here

Truancy Prevention in Action Series
Newly released publications by National Dropout Prevention Center/Network. This series was designed for several audiences: those who want to build political will to initiate a truancy reduction program; practitioners who work with struggling students; school, community, and court representatives will find the sections relating to their particular areas beneficial; and scholars will find a ready-made research agenda. The following publications in the series were developed in partnership with the National Center for School Engagement:

• Best Practices and Model Truancy Programs - The focus is on those programs, approaches, and strategies that have already demonstrated success. Six critical components of successful truancy intervention programs are identified. This is the first publication in the series. Authors: M. Reimer and K. Dimock. To order a copy, click Truancy Prevention in Action Series.
  
  
• Legal and Economic Implications of Truancy - The myriad legal and economic issues that surround truancy are reviewed. The sections describe school attendance laws, how they are applied, and the most commonly used methods of curbing truancy; legal issues and economic issues; the costs of ignoring truancy and the benefits of addressing it; and recommendations for state lawmakers, schools and school districts, courts, truancy reduction programs, and researchers. Authors: J. Smink and J. Z. Heilbrunn. To order a copy, click Truancy Prevention in Action Series

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Conferences and Trainings

American Humane Association's 2006 Conference and Skill Building Institutes on Family Group Decision-Making (FGDM) – We Belong to Each Other.
Dates: June 5-8, 2006
Location: San Antonio, TX
Attend this conference to grow your understanding about the interrelatedness of family and community in strengthening the safety and well-being of children.

Community Schools: Creating the Conditions for Learning

Location: Baltimore, MD - Renaissance Harborplace Hotel
Dates: June 14-16, 2006
It's an exciting time for community schools, and this year's Forum promises to continue the momentum building around the movement. Community Schools: Creating the Conditions for Learning will focus on how community schools create an environment in which all children can learn and succeed at high levels. Participants will explore the conditions for learning through the lens of leadership, policy, systems and practice changes.

Annual International Association for Truancy and Dropout Prevention Conference

Location: Baltimore, MD

Dates: October 7-11, 2006

Erin Gruwell (The Freedom Writers Diary: How A Group Of Teens Used The Power Of The Pen To Wage A War Against Intolerance) will be the keynote speaker at the conference. Further information about and registration for the conference will be available soon on the IATDP website link above.

Third Annual International Bullying Prevention Conference

Location: Atlanta, GA - Crowne Plaza Ravinia Hotel

Dates: November 1-4, 2006

This conference will feature keynotes by Wendy Craig, James Garbarino, and international experts in the field of bullying prevention and intervention. More highlights: 21+ workshops offered by leading practitioners, and opportunities to network with bullying prevention specialists and researchers.

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