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August 31, 2007
Catch 'em before they slip through the cracks
Many school districts have a pretty good handle on when they begin to see their kids disengage from school and start along the path to dropping out. For instance, kids who struggle during the transition years between elementary and middle school, and middle and high school frequently drop out.
To help their kids ease the high school transition and stay in school, the Pittsburgh, Pa., school district has taken a unique approach by launching a "9th Grade Nation," according to an article just published by our friends at Education Week. The new program is an intensive and fun way for incoming ninth grade students and their teachers to start to build relationships with each other. Reports Catherine Gewertz:
"Two weeks before school opened, the district welcomed more than 800 incoming 9th graders--about one-third of the class--to an orientation. ... Students walked the hallways and learned school rules, but they also shook their booties to hip-hop aerobics and went on a scavenger hunt. They discussed a novel they'd all read over the summer, and talked about why it's important to show up in class and get good grades. They also went with their teachers to a wooded campsite, where they managed an aerial ropes course and shrieked their way across a log suspended high above the ground."
Said a Pittsburgh high school principal: "This is about getting them to go beyond where they're comfortable, here and in class, and to see that the adults are there with them. What happens when they don't deal well with being uncomfortable is that they disengage, and that is a pattern that leads to bad grades."
And dropping out, according to NSBA's Center for Public Education in a recent roundup of dropout research. "Size matters. So do relationships and curriculum. Some high schools have better 'holding power' than others with similar students. Students who attend high schools that have smaller enrollments; better interpersonal relationships among students and adults; teachers who are supportive of students; and a focused, rigorous, and relevant curriculum drop out at lower rates."
The "9th Grade Nation" is just one piece of the Pittsburgh's initiative to keep kids in school. To read more of Ed Week's story, click here. To read more about the CPE's drop out research, click here.
Posted August 31, 2007 1:17 PM | Students
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