Bringing The Community Together To Help Duval County High School Students 'learn To Finish'

THE LEARNING TO FINISH C O L L A B O R AT I V E The Learning to Finish Collaborative is a broad community coalition focused on implementing strategies to solve the dropout crisis in Duval County. The Collaborative grew out of the Quality Education for All initiative, launched by The Community Foundation in Jacksonville in 2005. As those participating in the initiative gained knowledge, they focused attention on the alarming number of high school students who did not graduate on time. With the support of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, these stakeholders formed the Learning to Finish Council. The Council conducted a preliminary study of high school graduation patterns at three schools and analyzed the capacity of the school system to meet the needs of struggling students. Members also visited other communities to learn how citizens united to stimulate change. It was based on those models that the Learning to Finish Collaborative was formed. Today, public school systems need the support of all sectors of the community to successfully meet the needs of students and their families. The Learning to Finish Collaborative is a critical component in bringing Duval County resources together to help students graduate ready for college and career preparation.

C O L L A B O R AT I V E M E M B E R S LEAD PARTNERS

» Duval County Public Schools » The Community Foundation in Jacksonville » Jacksonville Children’s Commission » Jacksonville Public Education Fund » United Way of Northeast Florida PARTNERS

» Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida » City of Jacksonville » Communities In Schools » Community Engagement Group » Duval County Public Schools District School Advisory Committee » Florida Department of Children and Families » Florida Department of Juvenile Justice » Florida State College at Jacksonville » Full Service Schools of Jacksonville » JCCI » Jacksonville Public Library » Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce » NAACP » PACE Center for Girls » Team Gaia » Women’s Giving Alliance » WorkSource

EDUCATION BRIEFING #3 AUGUST 2009 ...Ready to Thrive!

B R I N G I N G T H E C O M M U N I T Y TO G E T H E R TO H E L P D U VA L C O U N T Y H I G H S C H O O L S T U D E N T S ‘ L E A R N TO F I N I S H ’ In Duval County Public Schools, one out of every three entering 9th grade students will not graduate from high school in four years – a statistic that is not acceptable to advocates of quality public education and one that is not good for Duval County. During the past two years, a powerful community collaboration has formed to understand more about the many paths students take through and away from high school and to instigate changes that will encourage more young people to get back on track, and stay on track, to graduation. The Learning to Finish Collaborative includes partners from multiple sectors – the Duval County school system, the business community, philanthropy and the nonprofit community (see listing at left). The willingness of these diverse players to come together to address this issue illustrates the profound ways in which high school graduation and dropout rates affect the entire community. The Collaborative is pursuing two strategies simultaneously. The first involves developing a comprehensive set of data around Duval County students – who stays on track, who gets off track, and why. The second involves engaging and mobilizing the community to provide needed support to the public schools and advocate on their behalf. This brief, the third in a series on the high school dropout crisis, reports in detail on the study of Duval County high school students from 2002-2008 and the Collaborative’s response to those findings.

INTRODUCTION The Duval County public school system is not unlike many other large, urban school systems in Florida and across the country. Its student body is highly diverse, its systems are complex and it struggles to help all students graduate from high school on time. Duval County’s graduation rate – the percent of public school students who graduate in four years – has been in the mid-60% range in recent years (65.9% in 2008). While some students ultimately graduate after five or more years of high school, as many as 30% of high school students leave school during that four-year period without graduating. Research shows these non-graduates not only will earn less, but will experience poorer health, be more likely to be incarcerated, be less likely to marry and have a shorter life expectancy. Rather than contributing to their communities, they will be a financial drain on their communities.1 To understand more about graduates and

non-graduates in Duval County, the Learning to Finish Collaborative, through the generous support of The Community Foundation in Jacksonville, commissioned a detailed three-part study of Duval County public school students in grades 6-12 from fall 2002 through spring 2008 and analyzed patterns associated with students who had dropped out of school. This brief reports on the findings of that research, Duval County’s existing drop-out prevention strategies and steps being taken by the Learning to Finish Collaborative to address the dropout crisis.

THE AGENDA FOR CHANGE The Learning to Finish Collaborative has mapped a strategic action plan to address the dropout crisis in Duval County. The partners will work together, drawing on each member’s strengths, and seeking outside expertise where appropriate. The plan has three major components:

WORKING IN THE SCHOOLS Learning to Finish will begin its work in two clusters of schools:

» Nathan B. Forrest High School and two of the middle schools that feed into it: Jefferson Davis and J.E.B. Stuart;

» Terry Parker High School and its two primary feeder schools: Arlington and Fort Caroline middle schools. Principals in these schools will identify by name rising 6th and 9th graders who exhibit the academic risk factors reported in the Learning to Finish research. They also will identify 12th graders who are behind academically but close to graduation.

Start small, think big, scale fast and leverage our assets With the help of funding from The Community Foundation in Jacksonville and support from Learning to Finish, each school will develop a strategic plan to support and help these at-risk students. The plans will draw on the resources of existing community programs, such as the Jacksonville Children’s Commission’s Team UP after-school program, United Way’s Achievers for Life, and Full Service Schools, as well as programs within Duval County Public Schools.

WO R K I N G W I T H I N T H E S C H O O L SY S T E M Learning to Finish also will work within the school system to re-examine, coordinate and enhance the dropout prevention programs already in place. The goal is to assure that all efforts are performance based and complement one another. Learning to Finish will work to provide professional development for teachers and providers in existing programs to enhance positive relationships with students.

LISTENING A N D E N GAG I N G THE COMMUNITY Learning to Finish will support student and parent engagement efforts at target schools. Learning to Finish will hold conversations in target school neighborhoods to hear about the value citizens place on ensuring all students graduate and to build a network of advocates with a sense of urgency about reaching that goal. The goal is to keep the graduation rate at the forefront of community conversation and at the top of Jacksonville’s priority list.

...Ready to Thrive!

A MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT O F D U VA L C O U N T Y P U B L I C S C H O O L S At Duval County Public Schools, our focus is on assuring that every child graduates from high school with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in college or the world of work. Through the years, we have learned that meeting this goal requires not only the hard work of the public schools, but the additional support of a broad array of community organizations. Therefore, we are extremely pleased to be a lead partner in the Learning To Finish Collaborative. Students need our guidance throughout the school day if they are going to be successful. They also need help beyond the school day – assistance with homework, tutoring and extra learning opportunities, as well as social and behavioral supports to overcome the challenges of growing up in an often difficult world. We are grateful for the many community partners who have committed to be a part of the Learning to Finish Collaborative. Our students need their support as well as ours. We are committed to doing our part to improve the support we offer to students. We are dedicated to working with our community partners in a systematic way to provide the next generation the best opportunity possible to be successful in work and in life. Ed Pratt-Dannals Superintendent of Schools

THE LEARNING TO FINISH RESEARCH Who Fails to Finish and Why A M U LT I - Y E A R A N A LY S I S Every year, students move in and out of Duval County and in and out of public schools, creating challenges for those who seek to understand what happens to students over time. For the Learning to Finish study, researchers isolated cohorts of students. Researcher Kenneth T. Wilburn, Ph.D., of Health-Tech Consultants, Inc., in Jacksonville, studied three cohorts of students: those beginning 9th grade in fall 2002 (the Class of 2006), those beginning 9th grade in fall 2003 (the Class of 2007), and those beginning 9th grade in fall 2004 (the Class of 2008).2 Each cohort included only those 9th graders who had been enrolled in Duval County Public Schools during middle school. Wilburn then tracked each cohort over four years. Those who formally withdrew – for transfer to another school, relocation or other reason – were noted, but no new students were added to the cohort.3

HIGH SCHOOL OUTCOMES For every high school student, graduation within four years – on-time graduation – is the goal. But only about six in 10 entering 9th graders in the cohort met that goal. What happened to the others? The answer is far from clear. For the three cohorts studied – the Classes of 2006, 2007 and 2008 – there were 20,069 entering 9th graders who had attended Duval County Public Schools in middle school. After accounting for relocations, transfers, deaths and withdrawals, a net cohort of 19,505 students remained. Of these, 11,842 students –60.7%–graduated on time, receiving a standard diploma. Another 517 students received a certificate of completion. A certificate of completion is not a diploma and not a General Equivalency Diploma. It merely states that the student has attended high school for the required period of time. It generally does not qualify a student to attend community college or enter the military. Another 1,356 students – 6.9% – remained enrolled in school, having been retained one or more times along their journey through high school.

WHERE STUDENTS GO Entering 9th graders

20,069*

Total known departures

564

(relocations, formal withdrawals, deaths, transfers to private school, home school or adult education)

Net Cohort

19,505

Graduated with diploma

11,842

Received certificate of completion

517

Did not graduate Still enrolled

1,356

Did not graduate No longer enrolled

5,790

* Includes only those first-time 9th graders who attended Duval County Public Schools the preceding year.

But for the remainder – 5,790 students or 29.7% of the net cohort – there is no record of their whereabouts. They are no longer enrolled in Duval County Public Schools or other accredited school in Florida. This number provides the most accurate count of the students who drop out of Duval County Public Schools.4

WHERE DO WE LOSE STUDENTS? A large proportion of high school students are lost during the 9th to 10th grade transition, a trend that is consistent

with findings in studies of other communities across the country. In each of the three cohorts studied – the Classes of 2006, 2007 and 2008 – significant numbers of first-time 9th grade students were not promoted to 10th grade. For the three classes, the 9th grade promotion rates were 74%, 78% and 74%, respectively, compared with promotion rates in 10th, 11th and 12th grades of 85% or higher. Beginning with a combined cohort of 20,069 entering 9th grade students, class size drops sharply the first year and continues to decline every year thereafter, until only 12,648 students are left at the start of the 12th grade year. Of those, 11,842 graduate with a standard diploma.

WHY DO WE LOSE STUDENTS? The low promotion rates in 9th grade appear to be tied to poor performance in key entry-level high school courses. Algebra 1 and English 1 are basic 9th grade courses that provide a foundation for learning throughout high school. More than 30% of those who did not graduate received a final grade of F in Algebra 1. And more than 25% of those who did not graduate received an F in English 1. For graduates, these percentages were 10% and 6%, respectively. But students, teachers and parents know the answers are more complex than just grades.

THE LEARNING TO FINISH RESEARCH Who Fails to Finish and Why To supplement the quantitative research, the Learning to Finish Collaborative, again with the support of The Community Foundation, commissioned a qualitative study to learn more about why students leave school – and why they struggle when in school.5 In seven focus groups, with students (both those in school and those who had left school), parents, teachers and administrators, and outside service providers, several themes emerged: Constructive student-teacher relationships are critical to student success. When that relationship is lacking, struggling students often let go. “…this time I have a teacher who is always trying to help me get my grades up and knows I don’t have books at home.… He listens to me, where some teachers don’t.…” Middle school student. “…instead of showing my emotions, letting the kid think he’s getting to me… I stayed firm and told him to sit down and I would not let him leave. He said, ‘Lady, why won’t you let me bail?’ I said, ‘Not on my watch.’ He sat down and did the work, kicking and screaming but he did the work.” Teacher. Peer pressure can lure struggling students into what appear to be more appealing alternatives. “…I was in school every day but you see everything on the outside and it sucks you in, even though you want to go to school and know the opportunities it offers for the future – it [peer pressure] makes you do something you do not want to do.” Former student, now incarcerated. Violence – in school and out of school – can be a major distraction. .”…the article in the paper about the little girl: my kids knew that child and they said, ‘Oh yeah, I was there that night.’ Another kid said, ‘I know who shot her.’…” Teacher. “…I just helped another girl. Just by the process of my questions, she figured out who shot her older brother.” Teacher. Life at home can affect students’ focus on school. “…With my daughter, I ask her when she walks in my house what she did that day. [I don’t want her] going in her room and coming out with tight clothes on and leaving

after being gone all day.…” Former dropout. “…I’m only going to get out of a kid what their parents will accept….That support system that the kid has from the parents, grandparents, etc., really makes the difference.…” Teacher. Ultimately, struggling students need someone to hold them accountable. “I know that I’m an intelligent person and I know that I could really do better if I wanted to but I had a lot of issues with my teachers not giving me the help that I needed. I started doing drugs and I skipped and I hung out with the wrong kids. I dropped out because I thought I was pregnant but I was just being stupid.” Student. “I just saw my hand in front of my face and didn’t see the future. But now, because of this program, I see how beneficial school could be and how much I need it and how hustlers don’t survive but people with an education do survive.” Former student, now incarcerated.

W H AT D O W E K N O W ABOUT THESE STUDENTS? Researchers had basic non-identifying demographic data about each individual

student in the cohort, enabling us to paint a general portrait both of the entire cohort and of those who left school without graduating. While there are statistical differences in race and economic status between those who graduate and those who do not, the data show that significant numbers of students of all races fail to graduate on time. “Failing to achieve a high school diploma…is a phenomenon that is spread widely across gender and racial boundaries,” Wilburn notes.6 Instead of looking at “personal characteristics” to predict who will not graduate, it is more effective to look at school-based factors, such as academic performance or attendance. Those students who received a diploma exhibited significantly better academic performance in certain key areas than those who did not receive a diploma. Diploma-earning graduates’ mean FCAT reading scores were about 250 points higher on a developmental scale than those who did not earn a diploma; and diploma-earning graduates’ mean FCAT math scores were about 150 points higher.

THE LEARNING TO FINISH RESEARCH Who Fails to Finish and Why THE FIFTH-YEAR CLASS Not all high school students who struggle give up. Many, in fact, are quite persistent in their efforts to graduate. As part of the quantitative study, researchers also looked at the students in the cohort who were enrolled through a fifth year of high school. (Only students in the classes of 2006 and 2007 are included in this group as those non-graduates in the class of 2008 were just beginning their fifth year during the study period.) There were a total of 129 students from the original group who were enrolled for a fifth year in high school. Of these students, 14 left the school system as transfers or withdrawals, leaving a net group of 115. Of those 115 students, 59 graduated at the end of the fifth year – a graduation rate of 51.3% – almost a full 10 percentage points lower than the graduation rate for four-year students. This echoes findings from other communities: students who fail to graduate in four years are much less likely ever to graduate.

PREDICTING WHO WILL STRUGGLE – OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERVENTION One of the most effective ways to help students graduate on time is to catch them before, or in the early stages of, their struggle. That tactic demands that we understand more about the early warning signs of high school disengagement. To assist in this, the quantitative researchers analyzed an array of data on a cohort of 10,093 Duval County public school students enrolled in grade 6 in the 20012002 school year and followed their progress through the school system until the end of the 2007-2008 school year. The goal was to identify those characteristics knowable in 6th grade that are predictors of failure to graduate on time. Researchers found that more than three out of 10 6th graders in the cohort did not graduate on time. Based on the students’ performance and progression through high school, researchers were able to identify

several early warning signs – or “flags” – that would indicate a student is at risk of dropping out. The more flags a student accumulates, the greater the risk that s/he will drop out. In this study, 82% of the 6th graders who did not graduate exhibited one or more of the early warning signs. If we track these readily available indicators for 6th graders, we can identify four out of every five students who are at risk of not graduating and offer appropriate interventions to get them – and keep them - on track. Standardized test scores provide the most valid and reliable predictor of high school completion for 6th grade students, the researchers found – 62% of students who failed to graduate had low scores (level 1 or 2) on the math or reading portions of the FCAT, Florida’s standardized achievement test. Course failure in 6th grade math or English also was a risk factor. More than a third - 36.2% - of students in the cohort who did not graduate failed a math course; more than a quarter - 28.1% - failed an English course. Course failure is a less reliable indicator because of year-to-year grading inconsistency. Excessive absenteeism - missing school 20% or more of the time – is a risk factor, though most predictive in combination with other factors. Eleven percent of the 6th graders who did not graduate missed school 36 or more days in the 6th grade. Serious behavior problems, although not a significant indicator in the 6th grade, become an increasingly important indicator in later years. Of the students who did not graduate, 6.7% had serious behavior problems (physical assault, weapons, drug

use and/or possession) in 6th grade, and the incidence rose in later years. Being overage for grade is a predictor of future struggle. But being overage for grade is, in fact, a product of past academic failure as much as a predictor of trouble to come. More than 58% of 6th graders in the study were overage for grade in the 6th grade, indicating that they had been retained at some earlier level.

CONSISTENT FINDINGS The findings of both quantitative studies – the study of high school students and the study of 6th grade students – are consistent with patterns that researchers have found in other communities. While each of these studies may vary slightly in time frame and methodology, it is clear that public schools across the country are struggling to graduate more of their students in a timely manner. While each community has unique factors that contribute to the problem, the presence of common factors suggests that Duval County may have opportunities to learn from the experiences of others.

THE LEARNING TO FINISH RESEARCH Existing Options in Duval County W H A T I S D U VA L C O U N T Y DOING TO HELP OFF-TRACK STUDENTS? Addressing the dropout crisis in Duval County – or any other community – requires an array of players, from community groups and businesses to philanthropic partners and local government. But at the heart of any such group is the public school system. Duval County Public Schools is actively engaged in multiple efforts to reduce the dropout rate and support more students along the path to graduation. To understand more about those efforts, the Learning to Finish Collaborative commissioned research to assess the scope and effectiveness of Duval County’s dropout prevention and intervention programs. The research, conducted by local consultant Lisa Pelle, examines the options and supports available for students who are at risk of not graduating, as well as the current capacity and effectiveness of the programs.7

H OW G R E AT IS THE NEED? Defining need is the first step in analyzing the effectiveness of existing efforts. For this study, an off-track student was defined as being two or more years overage for his or her grade or a non-proficient reader based on FCAT scores. Depending on the criteria, there were between 11,000 and 32,000 struggling students in Duval County Public Schools in the 2006-2007 school year, and the vast majority of those were middle and high school students. This suggests that one out of every five Duval County students in middle or high school may be at risk of not graduating. Since we know that roughly one out of three entering 9th grade students will not graduate in four years, this is arguably a conservative assessment.

* Students who are 2+ years overage for grade ** Non-proficient reader data based on grades 3-10 only

While the district tracks the number of students who participate in the programs and the percentage of those students who meet performance criteria, the district does not track whether these students go on to complete high school – the ultimate goal of the programs.

H OW D O S C H O O L S HELP STUDENTS?

P A T H WA Y S T O G R A D UAT I O N

Duval County Public Schools uses multiple strategies to meet the needs of these students. Programs offered to struggling students during the school day provide intense, individualized instruction in reading and other core subject areas. The district also has three major “safety-net” programs to help off-track students:

Duval County has adopted rigorous high school graduation requirements that significantly exceed those mandated by the State of Florida. While this positions those students who graduate to be competitive in post-secondary education and careers, the graduation rate indicates that many students are not receiving the preparation and supports needed to get them there.

» Grade acceleration programs provide

» »

extra support for retained/overage elementary and middle school students to help them return to their appropriate grade level. Credit recovery programs help high school students recover lost credits to get them back on track for graduation. GED Exit Option programs help high school students obtain a diploma through an alternative route.

Combined, these programs served 4,288 students in 2006-2007 – no more than 38% of those students identified as off-track for graduation. Unfortunately, the district generally lacks good data on the long-term effectiveness of these programs in impacting graduation rates.

1

Northeast University Center for Labor Market Studies The Quantitative Data Workgroup, made up of community volunteers, provided guidance and reviewed this research. 3 The researchers used data provided by Duval County Public Schools Department of Instruction Research and Accountability. 4 In Florida, high schools’ official dropout rates reflect a one-year snapshot of students who officially drop out by withdrawing from school and indicating that they do not intend to return. Thus, the researchers’ assessment of students who leave school between 9th and 12th grades is much higher than the official dropout rate, which was 3.3% for Duval County in 2008. 5 The Qualitative Data Workgroup, made up of community volunteers, provided guidance and reviewed this research. 6 Where Have All the 9th Graders Gone? A Descriptive Study of Three First-Time 9th Grade Student Cohorts, Kenneth T. Wilburn Ph.D., Dax M. Weaver MPH, Health-Tech Consultants, November 2008. 7 The Options Workgroup, made up of community volunteers, provided guidance and reviewed this research. 2

This report was prepared by the Learning to Finish Collaborative with funding from The Community Foundation in Jacksonville. It was written by Mary Kress Littlepage, KBT & Associates, Jacksonville, Florida. Copies may be found at www ltfjax.org. ...Ready to Thrive!

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Pam Paul at The Jacksonville Public Education Fund at [email protected] or www.ltfjax.org.