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December 1, 2001
Using Technology to Develop a Dropout Prevention Program
By Pam Moore LPC
Facing an ever-increasing dropout rate for teenagers in Texas high schools, Plainview Independent School District decided to create an option that might be attractive enough to lure disengaged students back to the classroom.
For 10 years, Plainview had a junior high dropout prevention program designed to help previously retained students skip a grade and return to their original class. Statistics show that grade retention is one of the biggest predictors of a student dropping out of school. However, such statistics were unavailable regarding high school students until five years ago when Plainview ISD entered a cooperative program with a neighboring school district. But the program soon proved to be unsatisfactory because of limited student participation, hampered by a daily 50-mile bus ride. So, two-and-a-half years ago, school staff members decided to develop an in-house program. They wrote a grant proposal for the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Grant to fund a newly created credit recovery high school, in addition to a junior high TAAS acceleration program, a GED program, and a 6th-12th grade academic enrichment program for all AEP (discipline) students. In order to meet the needs of such a diverse group, the staff decided on a computer-generated learning model.
The grant proposal was successful and in the spring of 1999, plans were begun to open a brand new school in the fall.
The Beginning
Houston School was created in 1990 as a junior high placement for previously retained 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. The program allowed these students to accelerate their learning in order to skip a grade and return to their previous class. Houston School also housed two short-term discipline programs, one for grades 6 through 8 and one for grades 9 through 12, to which all secondary campuses sent referrals. Houston School continued to grow, adding multiple placements for secondary students who needed a different type of learning environment. By 1999, Houston School housed or provided education services for 10 different programs. The need was great to find a good way to meet the extremely diverse academic needs of its students. With the newly obtained grant in hand, staff also needed to create a credit recovery high school.
At that point, the School Board voted to purchase a long defunct shopping center. By using prison labor, the Board hoped to turn the shopping center into a model alternative school, large enough and diverse enough to meet the needs of its 11 programs.
The Present
Houston School has now been in operation for two years at its new and beautiful location. The CSRD grant provided enough money to purchase 150 networked computers, plus an educational software program (Plato) to allow all students from grades 6 through 12, plus adult GED, to enjoy a comprehensive computerized learning system. Staff has attended many hours of training on computer-generated learning to meet the needs of at-risk learners. During each of its first two years, Houston School has served more than 700 hundred students in its programs. The new high school credit recovery program graduated 54 students in its first year and 93 students in its second. The program was the feature article for the May issue of "Texas Lone Star," the Texas School Board Association's monthly magazine.
The Future
The new high school credit recovery program is successful as evidenced by its graduation rate, but it has also proven to be a cost effective way to address a dropout prevention plan. If the program continues at its present rate, the number of dropouts recovered will be financially positive for the school district. The community will also benefit by seeing a better-educated workforce. By far, the biggest reward this program has given its staff is their being able to see the look of accomplishment on the faces of the new graduates.
Email: Pam Moore
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