Darlene Fisher wants your input on drop out rates in Toledo…
Sent in via e-mail from Toledo Public Schools Board member Darlene Fisher for readers of GCJ as a guest post:
The United Way has recently taken up Education as one of their issues. Their research has found that to positively reduce the need for more extensive resources going to social ills, they need to positively improve education in the community. Unfortunately, the United Way can only walk peripherally around this issue since they don’t have any real connection to the schools or board of education. I still plan to be involved in education issues in our community and will attend the Summit. However, I’m afraid it will be more of the same – talk, talk and no action. I’m looking to hear from GCJ posters on what they think the system needs to do to fix the drop out rates in Toledo. Summits are good for the purpose of broadening discussion but when do we get to the real issues of action steps, timetables and assigned accountability that can be measured or followed-up on. If that doesn’t occur, it will remain exactly just talk and no action. I’m also interested to see who attends this Summit. Who will be there – churches, social services, educational types or any advocates willing to address these issues?
This Summit is being held Thursday, November 19th at the Dana Center in conjunction with the America’s Promise Alliance. America’s Promise Alliance seems to point out that drop out rates are connected to local economies, tax revenue, crime stats and incarceration rates. So what does a community do it about drop out rates? How do we improve them? How do we keep kids in school and on a path to a career or college?
First, the school districts must measure drop out rates honestly. Measuring from the original counts of each freshman class compared against the number of students at the end of the 4-year period that leave TPS with a diploma if they have not moved or enrolled in another educational institution. The TPS reported graduation rate is 86.7% – even that seems high compared to reality. We also need to monitor GPA rates. The connections to the tuition support programs at Owens and UT are helping to raise the bar of the GPAs but it is not enough yet to positively affect graduation rates.
Some will say – education can not educate all students and that some percentage will always drop out. Or the parents need to be more involved, or education settings are doing all they can. Others will say – we need to engage students earlier in the process before they get set on a failure track. The problem most likely revolves around not enough adult interaction before kids get to a stage of dropping out and subsequently there is no follow-up for students who do drop out. What is the entity responsible for that? Who has the resources, time, energy and ways to connect to drop outs before they become part of the judicial system?
In other communities, I’ve heard of Principals that track every incoming student. This is probably what it will take. Especially for students who don’t have a strong family support system – someone needs to continually check with students to make sure they are on the right track. The High School Counselor does not have time to do this. So who does? Would TPS allow an outside agency to assist with this – most likely not – plus student privacy has to be of concern. What would be the obstacles to every student being assigned a Mentor? Well, training for Mentors would be necessary, follow-up on Mentors and their work would be required plus a complete background check for those who serve as mentors unless this is handled through an agency that has already cleared their employees. Next, TPS may say this is a function of the school or educator which would be covered by some contractual item somewhere. So something as simple as an interested adult helping to check on a high school student to ensure they stay grounded in their studies becomes something very unmanageable or almost an undoable action from the get go.
Recently, I heard a TPS employee talk about a student that dropped out and realized their mistake a week later. This student thought enough to call the TPS employee – unfortunately no support was provided to the student. I’m not assigning blame just reporting the story. So the TPS employee simply responded that it was not their role to help a student re-enroll and sent the student off to some other administrator. I am not aware of the eventual outcome for that student if they eventually were able to re-enroll or not but I would believe that several students who do eventually drop out end up with this type of case of remorse when reality sets in. Could we, as a community, work with an entity that whenever a student drops out of school, their name is referred to a social service agency to follow-up on their behalf? They would probably need an educational advocate because I’m sure the academic history of a drop out is at most – very difficult to repair. My experience in TPS has been that once a student reaches such a record it is nearly impossible to recover from. So then the question becomes what are the student’s next options?
Those options remain slim – no job, no economic value, possibility leading to crime and no easy way to recover to achieve a diploma in the current system and their only option ends up being a GED if they get channeled accordingly. It all seems like a well crafted plan unless we can collectively stop students from falling into this path far ahead of time and redirect them with the proper support to remaining in school well in advance so students stay engaged in their studies at least until they successfully accrue enough credits to graduate. So yes, this is a community issue that will take community resources. Is Toledo up for it? That remains to be the question so GCJ posters – what do you think?
Darlene,
I am a former TeachForAmerica corps member and masters of public policy student at the University of Michigan and the real graduation rate in Toledo is less than 35%. I have been trying to contact board members on how I can help. I have been a part of two schools in Chicago that have greatly improved with alternative methods such as single sex, extended day, student/teacher tracking and parent involvement. I want to help, but it seems no one wants to hear me.
dswarren@umich.edu
November 16th, 2009 at 6:59 pmWell I bet they could use your help back in Chicago, they need a new school board president, you know.
November 16th, 2009 at 7:24 pmThat really is totally off topic Not Again.
November 16th, 2009 at 7:39 pmYou have some good ideas Darlene, but I think it is evident that the current school board, under the direction of the the teacher’s union, i not interested these ideas. Unfortunate.
November 16th, 2009 at 7:47 pmSorry about number 2, but it is breaking news, and there are many interesting threads that are associated with this “untimely” death.
November 16th, 2009 at 7:51 pmIf someone takes the time to write a guest post, specifically looking for input? That should be respected…
November 16th, 2009 at 7:56 pmI don’t dwell in negativity. Chicago Public does have some serious issues, but in comparison to Urban Schools it outperforms every urban district in our state and most nationwide because they are reform minded and allow school areas to find new solutions to problems. I taught at two schools and both have very different plans and both were successful at what they did Urban Prep and at a lighthouse academy. Our teachers worked their butts off, administration worked their tails off, and despite the area that is crime ridden, our graduation rates will be in the high 80s.
As a policy student here looking at education policy and as a former educator I have profound background on issues involved in schools from academic to discipline and parental involvement. I appreciate this blog as a Toledo resident, graduate of Scott High School, and etc.
November 16th, 2009 at 8:02 pmThanks Maroon Tiger, and I appreciate you sharing what you learned, perhaps someone will listen this time.
November 16th, 2009 at 8:08 pmNot again – thanks – you’re most likely correct in your observation on who controls the board now. Problem is we still have students who need education in Toledo and I’m not willing to let those kids down just because someone else wants to control their destiny.
Maroon Tiger – thanks for the info – I’ll contact you – the push for improvement may not come from inside TPS but it certainly can come from a public that cares about students and demands graduation stats higher than an actual rate of 35%.
I knew it was much lower than the district reports so I’m interested in sorting through those figures and finding solutions that come from the community.
November 16th, 2009 at 9:59 pmWe all need a consequence for not having our life together enough for school and then work. School boards need the authority to give a real consequence to those who won’t come to school for whatever reason. Then encourage and work with those who really want to learn and grab a job.
November 17th, 2009 at 12:15 amI talked to a cable installation guy today. He is working 70 hours a week , his co. can’t get people to report for work for this well paying job. http://www.acidirect.com to apply . Up and down Glendale ave I see help wanted signs. Walmart is hiring too, I asked.
Part of our unemployment problem is a people problem. But no consequence , then folk get lazy. It ’s just our nature to take the easy route .
I agree that the first course of action has to be to get honest drop out information. That may not be something that can be accomplished in TPS, the level of deceit and manipulation is entrenched in so many layers of the district.
Let us know if you would about the summit. I know most of my own peers and their children do not partake of the public school system unless there is absolutely no other possibility. So, how many of our churches would be willing to participate in something like this is a good question. They are struggling now with food banks and trying to stock up with clothing and necessities for the homeless over the winter. Many of our churches are housing homeless families at the church. It’s a struggle and you can only address so many things at one time.
A public school system that you’ve abandoned as a lost cause will not be more important than feeding the hungry. That much I know.
November 17th, 2009 at 12:17 pmMaroon Tiger – I missed that first comment. I am disappointed to think it’s 35%. We’d ought to be able to do better.
Obviously throwing money at this problem has not solved it. Which I’ll be bringing up for discussion at the next mention of a levy.
November 17th, 2009 at 12:20 pmTPS uses the 12th grade year as the data for graduate rates. So 86% of 12th graders gradaute on time. The data I looked at how many 9th graders will graduate in four years. It also gives a district performance score that takes into account school districts in urban areas and other data. Our district performance score is 62% which is a relative “D”. We lose a high majority of our kids in grades 9 and 10. Schools address this problem in other areas with certain methods:
1. Create a 9th Grade Academy where schools foster relationships with at risk students.
2. Students in their curriculum mandate that students participate in extra curricular activites (4 credits with a student earning .5 credits a semester), students that work 10-20 hours a week for 15 consecutive weeks and with less than 10 absences per semester can get an exemption.
3. Improved student tracking from K-12 with teacher tracking in areas of acacemics, test scores, discipline issues, and IEPs/IBPs (Individualized Education/Behavior Plans) All electronic instead of it being on paper and having to be physically handled and lost.
4. Increased school day and school year. I taught from 830-430 and coached after that, so students went home later and were off the streets and tired from the activities.
5. Peer and Teacher mentoring (mandated)
Those are just some of the few things. The link is below.
http://www.edweek.org/apps/gmap/details.html?year=2009&zoom=4&type=2&id=3904490
November 17th, 2009 at 2:03 pmSchools need to realize that everyone learns differently. Maybe there should be more effort to teach to the way someone learns instead of just plowing through the same old way that has always been done would help some kids. If a student actually feels like he/she is learning something in school the less likely he/she will drop out.
I know that this will probably never happen.
November 17th, 2009 at 2:57 pmDarlene, thank you for your service as a board member.
I am an employee at one of Toledo’s “churches, social services, educational types.”
I have been personally involved in providing services to TPS for many years. Serving the children has been delightful, and evals have been top-notch.
But dealing with Mr Foley and his staff has been miserable. They backbite and complain about the Board, and pit social services agencies against each other in a manipulated fashion.
I know of mutiple agencies that are scared to death to speak-up about this environment. We tippy-toe around wondering who we need to keep happy. Talking to the Board is expressly forbidden.
Contracts equal captivity during the length of contract because of TPS’s mantra “I don’t care what the contract says, you better give me more services and lower prices NOW because I’ll change the requirements to exclude you next time if you don’t.”
A key employee at one of the high schools recently asked me “have they screwed you yet?” This devoted employee elaborated that most rank and file employees wonder why TPS treats its partners so poorly. We sure miss Gene!
Community collaborations start at the top with an attitude that embraces partnerships vs. “let’s find someone we can beat up.”
I’m sad to post this feedback. I don’t understand how good people like Mr. Foley and his team of lifelong educators becomes so blind their own unproductive stratigies.
November 17th, 2009 at 4:27 pmLift Up Toledo – I appreciate your willingness to speak about these concerns. Can we meet? Please contact me at darlene@darlenefisher.com Thanks!
November 17th, 2009 at 5:36 pmDarlene,
You are correct about the first step, knowing the real dropout rate. A 10+ year enrollment by grade spreadsheet on every school and school district web site would do that, with graduation numbers included for each year, and updates done annually.
The second step is to bolt a 500-pound gun vault to the floor in every secondary school lobby to function as a 10-year time-capsule. Each new class entering the school writes letters to themselves for the vault their first month in the school. They write about their life history and their plans for the future. Then, as they plan to graduate from that school years later, they receive back the initial letter and rewrite it with a clearer focus on their future in 10 years. They plan for a 10-year class reunion which will include speaking to then current students in the school about their recommendations for success.
Their Language Arts class where they write the letters will pose with them in front of the vault before they place their letters inside the last week before they leave the school. The next day they each receive copies of that photo with details on the back about their 10-year class reunion, phone numbers, dates, etc… and a reminder to expect questions from the students they will be talking to in 10 years such as “What would you do differently if you were 13 again?”
The first School Archive Project started in 2005. They were the Graduation Class of 2009. Both high schools who received these students had the largest 12th grade class ever with their Class of 2009! Dropout rates are going down! Watch the numbers reflecting the progress at http://www.studentmotivation.org. Not bad for a project costing less than $2 per student.
November 17th, 2009 at 9:32 pmBill – wow – fantastic post. I’ll take the ideas shared here to the Summit. Basically this approach is a goal setting that is monitored, followed up on and something the student can tie to their own success and destiny. From my stats background I know this – data that is monitored and measured correctly – often improves the situation. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could get one or two freshman classes in Toledo to consider this. Plus I like the idea that it doesn’t take a ton of work to accomplish – just buy in and a focus on the students. Appreciate it.
November 17th, 2009 at 11:30 pmI think one of the problems is the fact that they push college too much. Many students would do much better in vocational programs. I graduated from college and feel it was the worst mistake I ever made.
November 19th, 2009 at 10:14 amI think vocational programs would be beneficial too.
November 19th, 2009 at 2:43 pmYes, Gerald and Robin – you are correct. So many times I’ve been in the public and people ask me about the closing of Macomber – probably a huge mistake for Toledo. I’ve heard various reasons for that closing so I’m not 100% of the reasoning behind it but many grads from Macomber owe their success to the trades taught there. One of the things that we must do for the region is to take a look at the potential employers and career opportunties and work that backwards to see what skills we need to be teaching. Penta is hugely successful in this area – TPS not so much so there’s room for improvement. I attended the session today – the testimony from the students was most powerful. I’ll try to report on that soon. Thanks for the input – greatly appreciated.
November 19th, 2009 at 4:00 pmEducation is needed, whether college or through vocational/industrial trading. The issue is making sure vocational trading provides flexibility in changing careers because America and their workforce is no longer fixed on having one career or job throughout someone’s lifetime. The idea of working somewhere 20-30 years until retirement is not where our economy is headed. In toledo, we lack economic viability for new companies because we have a low number of people with post-secondary education and mainly bachelor degrees in hard sciences and other areas as well. TPS and UToledo need to work hand in hand even more as partners. I have many ideas and hopefully Darlene you reach out to me for the many ways that we can improve education in our area especially in terms of Woodward, Scott, Libbey, and Waite area improvements, teacher training, and collaboration.
November 19th, 2009 at 5:02 pmEducation is needed, whether college or through vocational/industrial trading. The issue is making sure vocational trading provides flexibility in changing careers because America and their workforce is no longer fixed on having one career or job throughout someone’s lifetime. The idea of working somewhere 20-30 years until retirement is not where our economy is headed. In toledo, we lack economic viability for new companies because we have a low number of people with post-secondary education and mainly bachelor degrees in hard sciences and other areas as well. TPS and UToledo need to work hand in hand even more as partners. I have many ideas and hopefully Darlene you reach out to me for the many ways that we can improve education in our area especially in terms of Woodward, Scott, Libbey, and Waite area improvements, teacher training, and collaboration.
November 19th, 2009 at 5:03 pmThe conference at MUO DANA Center was impressive today. There were a great many people from all of the various interested parties in attendance and participating. The student testimonies were particularly interesting. A large number of very actionable solutions were put forth after a tremendous amount of discussion. Anyone who actually takes a look at what is working would find that many of the suggestions are bring implemented in small pockets of success around the area. The main points seemed to be that students need parents or someone acting in a mentor capacity that they can relate to and that parents/guardians /mentors need to be involved in the process. No one in their right mind thinks that the educational process is what it was 20 – 30 years ago, and schools alone cannot do everything. When the young man, now at UT, spoke about his life experiences it was abundantly apparent that he had absolutely no support system at home, in fact he did not really have a home. We truly do need to listen to what our kids are saying and quit all of the “adult” in fighting and politics. IMHO
November 19th, 2009 at 6:25 pm