Student Attendance Pathway and Engagement

Montgomery County Board of Education

July 29, 2019

STEP BY STEP

Information

Awareness

UrgencyAction

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Board of Education Strategic Planning Committee

Purposeof Study

“…to explore what factors compel students either to drop out of school or to attend school infrequently.”

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DisengagementScenarioA young man from Guatemala aged 17 enrolls through the International Office and then shows up to register at his local high school. He has not been in a formal school setting since he was 10. What steps would best serve his needs?

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Input provided by

• Principals (3 Levels)

• Associate Superintendents

• Teachers

• Directors

• Coordinators

• MCEA

• SEIU,

• MCAAP

• Paraeducators

• Students

• ESOL Teachers

• Reading Teachers

• Principal PLCs

• Community Groups

• More

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Student GrowthBy Grade

544 696390 380

0

200

400

600

800

Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12

NUMBERS OF DROPOUTS2017 TO PRESENT

TOTAL 2010

OUR URGENCY

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Engagement ChartTotal

Number of

Dropouts

ESOL Dropouts

Reading below proficiency (based on MAP-R)(see *)

Math below proficiency (based on MAP-M)(see *)

Dropouts with IEPs

504s FARMs

African-American

379 53 165 155 108 6 165

Hispanic/ Latino

1,341 1,184 732 462 110 6 567

Asian 51 32 14 6 7 2 15

White 193 26 37 29 49 13 42

2 or more (multiple) races

43 1 14 15 9 1 16

Total: 963 Total: 668

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FARMs Students / All MCPS Dropouts% of FARMS Students

Among All MCPS Dropouts

% of FARMS ELs Among All MCPS

Dropouts

% of FARMS IEP Students Among All

MCPS Dropouts

% of FARMS 504 Students Among All MCPS Dropouts

40% 43% 42% 36%

Total Dropouts

ESOL IEPs 504s Reading Proficiency

Math Proficiency

Proficiency in Both

805 553 120 10 133 63 55

FARMs Students / All MCPS Dropouts

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Analysis and Findings

Success Factors• Strong and positive relationships

• A sense of belonging

• A sense of academic purpose

• Coursework, pathways and partnerships that promote active student participation

• An academic intervention program

• Academic readiness in reading, math and EL proficiency

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Analysis and Findings

Barriers to Student Engagement• Inadequate reading, math, and English language

proficiencies

• Lack of options for and knowledge of alternative pathways

• Necessity to work or provide childcare

• Transitions from each school level to the next

• Inadequate staff responses in areas that include pedagogy, curriculum and cultural proficiency

• Weak relationships within the school

• Insufficient attention to equity seen in the number of FARMS dropouts

• Socio-economic factors

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Key Student Suggestions

Academic• Explain all the pathway options that are

available such as the Edison Center

• Make instruction more relevant

• Slow down instruction and re-teach when students do not understand

Social/Emotional• Sponsor more after-school clubs

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Scope of Study

• Relationships

• Reading

• ESOL

• Partnerships, Internships and Pathways

• Articulation

• Middle Schools

• Counselors and Social Services

• Special Education

• Teaching Methodologies and Models

• Professional Development

• Evidence of Learning

• Eligibility

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Relationships

Academic• Academic Intervention by individuals or

teams.

Social/Emotional• Expanding training options in cultural

proficiency?

• Creating more after-school clubs?

• Engaging speakers to talk to students about a range of subjects?

• Introducing the security persons at each school to all students and explaining their role?

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Reading

Curriculum/Pedagogy• Implementing an enhanced reading development program at the Career Ready Education Academy (CREA)?

• Providing all teachers more professional training on basic reading strategies?

Assessments/Evaluations• Screening students entering an MCPS high school for the first time in reading proficiency?

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ESOL

Academic: Screening & Placement• Stopping the requirement that EL students who refuse

ESOL services must still take the WIDA?

Academic: Staffing & Professional Development• Language Acquisition Resource teachers work with

World Languages, Reading, and EL departments and sit on the ILT?

Academic: Pathways• Creating a bilingual video to be shown to 8th and 9th

graders and their parents by counselors that highlights all the pathways?

• Finding a career path for older EL students to learn while they learn English?

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Partnerships, Internships& Pathways

• Increase steps to enhance communication with community service organizations and businesses?

• Creating an Evening High School program?

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Eligibility

• Aligning current eligibility standards with district measures for college and/or career readiness?

• Measuring eligibility standards by a sliding scale of academic expectations to encourage greater student engagement?

• Considering how attendance and eligibility align?

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Articulation

• Arrange summer orientation for all schools?

• Establish a monitoring calendar to ensure review of reading and math levels of all incoming 6th and 9th

graders?

• Holding 5th and 8th grade parent orientation meetings?

• Requiring counselors to introduce 8th

graders to college and career pathways.

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Addressing Relationships

Six Essentials PartnershipsMental Health and Well Being

EveryMind – Red FlagsCaringMatters – Good Grief GroupsThe Tree HouseLocal Care Team

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Addressing Literacy

New Curriculum-

•More engaging and rigorous

• Focus on Foundational Skills and Complex Grade Level Text

• Culturally Relevant Text

• Literacy Interventions

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Addressing ESOL

ESOL Workgroup

• Focused on secondary ESOL Instruction and Programming

• Instructional Models

• Course and assessment expectations

• Counselors and registrars

• Professional development

• Culture and equity

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Addressing Partnerships

• Industry partnerships

• CREA

• CTE

• Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES)

• CollegeTracks

• Collegiate Directions

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Addressing K–12 Articulation

• K-12 model

•What’s working?

•Next steps

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Board of Education Strategic Planning Committee

DISCUSSION

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