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May 2007 Dear Subscribers,
Over the past few months, I've attended conferences and reviewed recent studies that address the high dropout rate in the United States, especially among Latino/Hispanic students. The statistics vary, but are consistently troubling and emphasize the consequences of school failure. This is the message in the report titled, High Cost of High School Dropouts: What the Nation Pays for Inadequate High Schools, by the Alliance for Excellence in Education. (See Hot Topics and Resource & Research section.)
After receiving large doses of information about school failure, I confess I felt cynical. I questioned if efforts to promote school success could truly reverse the alarming dropout rates that are rooted in issues of class, race, family functioning, and truancy. But just as my pessimism began to get the best of me, I received a commencement announcement in the mail. As I read the script text that spelled out the name of my nephew, Michael J. Lozano, my cynicism faded and I was reminded of the power of hope. A good friend, who works with students “at-promise," once explained to me that students who overcome tremendous adversity are often able to articulate a positive future - they have hope. It’s important that we recognize that every year many students find the tools and supports to overcome risk factors such as, substance abuse, violence, poverty and low expectations. The dropout statistics only tell part of the story. (See Feature Article section - Truancy Prevention: Can We Do More to Address the Root Causes?)
Today, I applaud and recognize Michael and all the graduates who beat the odds to stand proudly and receive their high school diploma. They give me hope.
Good Luck to the Class of 2007!
Judith Martinez
In this edition - Don’t miss the list of funding opportunities and upcoming conferences.
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Truancy Prevention: Editorial by Patrick Nakamura
I've worked on truancy prevention for about a decade. Not as long as most I've met over the years, but enough time to learn about the root causes of truancy. The causes of truancy are students/families not valuing education, and/or being disconnected from school, and/or lacking personal responsibility.
I understand that effective truancy prevention approaches include a balance of "sticks and carrots," and programs must have multi-agency partnerships and work with students (preK-12) and their families. It seems that most policymakers and funders realize the importance of prevention. I know there are great teams across the nation doing outstanding truancy prevention work. However, I believe that more can be done to assess and address the root causes. It seems that we rarely dig deep enough to see the roots. For example, let's consider a truancy-related problem statement such as "Some students choose to be truants." If we ask teen truants why they decided to skip school, some common answers would be "School is boring/too hard" or "The teacher doesn't like me." Too often, the popular reaction is to only look at how we might change the teacher/school. If we apply a root cause analysis technique such as the 5 Whys to this same problem, here's how it might go: · The teenage students choose to be truants. Why? · Because the teacher is unable to make a connection. Why? · Because the students don't try to learn. Why? · Because they are so far behind. Why? · Because they had attendance problems since kindergarten. Why? · Because the family does not value education.
To develop good solutions to any problem, it helps to understand the problem and pinpoint the causes. For truancy, I wonder if we do enough to address the root causes. In this age of NCLB (No Child Left Behind,) and in our society permeated by attitudes of entitlement, passivity, and misplaced blame, there is a drought of good messages about education in the mass media and, more importantly, in everyday conversation. And, the weeds of constantly repeated bad messages only make it harder for our young saplings to grow. To address the root causes (and in doing so, to help students/families value education, build connections to school, and plant seeds of personal responsibility), I changed the way I think and talk about education. For example, when there is a holiday, I tell my children, "I'm sorry you don't get to go to school today." When chatting with other parents about schools, I avoid and will counterpoint the "good school, bad school" mentality. I ask colleagues where they obtained (instead of received) their college education. Also, I helped develop three 30-second public service announcements (see www.educationpsa.org) to send positive messages throughout the community. I hope others will do the same and change the way they think/talk about education. I believe this is a first and huge step toward truly preventing truancy and improving student achievement for that matter.
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Benefits of High School Graduation*
High school graduates provide both economic and social benefits to society. In addition to earning higher wages, which results in benefits to local, state, and national economic conditions, high school graduates live longer, are less likely to be teen parents and are more likely to raise healthier, better educated children. Who Doesn’t Graduate? • Only about 56 percent of Hispanic students and 52 percent of black students will graduate on time with a regular diploma, compared to 77 percent of Asian students and 76 percent of white students (Editorial Projects in Education, 2006.) • The lowest-achieving, 25 percent of students are twenty times more likely to drop out of high school than students in the highest achievement quartile (Carnevale, 2001). *Excerpt from 2007 Issue Brief by |
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MetLife Foundation Sharing the Dream Grants: Helping Principals Create Cultures of Engagement and Involvement in Their Schools These grants enable principals to test ideas on how to involve and engage their communities to build greater ownership for the work of the school by sharing leadership and decision-making, by keeping all stakeholders informed about all school news — good and bad — and by creating a school climate that fosters open communication, safety and security, respect for every individual, and the idea that the school is the center of the community and welcomes all of its members. Awards: $3,000 plus. Submission deadline: The Mattel Children's Foundation's Domestic Grantmaking Program supports nonprofit organizations throughout the Administration for Children and Families Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Grant. Submission deadline: Keep America Beautiful, Inc/ Graffiti Hurts Grants Offers monetary grants to schools and groups throughout the Download a free Best Practices Guide that outlines the ASA grant program and provides details as to the kinds of programs that have received funding in the past and how you can apply. For more information, contact: ASA@ActFnd.org.
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Alliance for Excellent Education Its mission is to promote high school transformation to make it possible for every child to graduate prepared for postsecondary education and success in life. It offers reports and publishes “Issue Briefs," such as The High Cost of High School Dropouts: What the Nation Pays for Inadequate High Schools by the
Newly released report by This paper presents the voices of a group of youth who ran away from their foster placements and the perspectives of adults who care for, or work with these youth. Findings reveal missed opportunities in helping support the educational aspirations of a vulnerable group of youth--missed opportunities for foster parents and professionals, for the child welfare and education systems, and for the youth themselves. The adults need to overcome institutional impediments and secure appropriate support services and educational opportunities for the youth with whom they work. These supports and opportunities, coupled with highly motivated and committed adults, are key factors in increasing the likelihood that foster youth will have positive academic experiences and outcomes. An interactive map that tracks indicators of academic achievement. The indicators used draw upon and reflect the business expertise of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its members. This national report examines each state's return on its educational investments.
Talking to Kids About School Violence From the
Help with the Healing, on the Web Created after high-profile school shootings and the 9/11 attacks, these resources help children and adults deal with trauma.
National Child Traumatic Stress Network The NCTSN serves as a national resource for developing and disseminating evidence-based interventions, trauma-informed services, and public and professional education. Numerous resources to help parents, teachers, schools, providers working with youth, and others support kids and teens.
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Mark Your Calendar and Call For Presentations Location: Hotel Zoso in This conference will feature breakout sessions highlighting local, state and national presenters that will offer to you “proven methodologies” and “cost free practical ideas to combat truancy” in your community. Save the date to attend this informative and inspiring conference. Formal registration packets will be sent out in the near future. Special thank-you to Clark County Juvenile Court Administrator Ernie Veach-White and Educational Service District 112 Superintendent Dr. Twyla Barnes for hosting this year’s conference. For more information regarding the conference, please contact: Pat Borner at
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