School Drop-Out Rate - Essay Example

?COMPREHENSIVE, DEVELOPMENTAL SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAM: SCHOOL DROP-OUT RATE A. Data In order to determine the drop-out cohort for the school, as a new counsellor I would access two types of data. I would look at national longitudinal studies to identify common characteristics for establishing the factors that contribute to drop-out rates and the year in which students are more likely to drop-out. Secondly, I would examine the files of those students who have failed to complete school at my school and look for factors that might explain or establish a cohort. The idea is to determine what influences drop-out rates and to specifically look for those factors in the local school’s drop-out cohort. By taking this approach, I would be in a better position to take proactive and preventative measures in the development of a counseling program. A comprehensive counseling program responding to the drop-out rate would be designed to identify students where at least one of the factors found to contribute to drop-out rates and to engage those students in counseling. Drawing on national longitudinal studies the baseline for the program would target students with specific family backgrounds, demographics, members of minority and ethnic groups, lower academic performance, low self-esteem and students with disability or health problems (Lamb 2011, 369). National longitudinal studies demonstrate that each of these factors are significant contributing factors in the national school drop-out cohort. It is expected that my local school is no different (Lamb 2011, 369). Essentially, national longitudinal studies show that family background such as the family’s structure and parents’ level of education contribute to a student’s propensity to drop-out of school (Lamb 2011, p. 370). Demographic factors like, race, ethnicity, gender and location are also contributing factors. Individual factors such as disability, self-esteem and health are also contributing factors to the national school drop-out rate (Lamb 2011, p. 370). Additionally, the student’s experience at schools such as academic performance, repeating grades and attitudes toward the school also contribute to the school drop-out rate (Lamb 2011, p. 370). Identifying these factors will be important for establishing the specific goals of this counseling program. Ultimately the program will have as its goals identifying these factors among the student population and reaching out to those students by virtue of counseling and education to encourage retention. An example of the data would be statistics grouping the cohorts into different groups so as to establish priority groups. The statistical grouping would reflect the percentage of students from specific groups that have dropped out of school. A list reflecting the percentage of drop-out students from a shared background or a shared demographic, or a shared individual trait or a shared academic performance will be prepared. This list is necessary for substantiating how students at risk among the current student population should be identified and targeted for the counseling program. It is therefore necessary to establish a list of students who are at risk of dropping out and ensuring that they are targeted by the counseling program. In order to justify this approach, it will be necessary to demonstrate how the counseling program has intervened and prevented students who were at risk in the past dropping out of school. Therefore a list of students who exhibited the factors that contribute to the drop-out rate, who received counseling and did in fact complete school will also be prepared. The collection of data is a necessary prerequisite for a comprehensive school counseling program. As reported by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA): The use of data to effect change within the school system is integral to ensuring that every student receives the benefits of the school program (ASCA National Model, n.d.). This means not only collecting data reflecting the drop-out cohort, but also data demonstrating how counseling can help. This means that as a counselor I “need to evaluate process”, calculate “perception and results data” (ASCA National Model, n.d.). Processing data will provide the necessary answer to what I did for students at risk of dropping out of school and will provide evidence that students with specific traits are at risk of dropping out if we do not take preventative or proactive measures. The data processing would therefore substantiate the belief that a responsive program would therefore be aimed at holding counseling sessions or workshops for students who are at risk of dropping out. Perception data would involve the data collected from both longitudinal and local drop-out cohorts. This data will demonstrate what “people think they know, believe or can do?” (ASCA National Model, n.d.). This perception data informs of the numbers, ages and common attributes among students who have previously dropped out of school and drawing on this information we can identify those students who are likely to drop out of school. Results data will inform of what has been done in the past to address these problems and whether or not it was successful. Weaknesses in the past programs can be identified and improved upon. For example, results data would demonstrate the number of students exhibiting the factors that increase the likelihood of dropping out and have been counseled, but remained in school instead. Results data would therefore be significant for demonstrating that intervention by way of proactive and preventative measures can reduce the drop-out rate if it is incorporated into a comprehensive counseling program. B. Mission Statement Our mission is to foster an appreciation for and understanding of the significance of each student’s personal/social, academic and career development by delivering a comprehensive guidance and counseling program. Our primary goal is to identify and work with students who are at risk of dropping out and to work with those students. By working with those students we intend to identify their specific difficulties, help them formulate productive goals, enhance their productivity and help them to make productive decisions. More importantly our mission is to ensure that these students who are most at risk of dropping out of school gain an appreciation for the consequences of dropping out for their future. We will endeavor to help these students realize that completing school is the most important gift that they can give themselves, their family and their communities. We will also strive to ensure that these students have the support of their families and the faculty in encouraging these students to remain in school. C. Action Plan In order to identify students at risk of dropping out and the specific factors that are present in those students, an Action Plan will be incorporated into the Guidance Curriculum which begins with Guidance Lesson content targeting all students. Research studies indicate that all students are at risk of dropping out if any of the factors identified among drop-out cohorts are present. Moreover, students who are not at risk of dropping out at an early age, may be effected by the contributing factors later on (Unger 2007, p. 108). Early intervention is therefore necessary and should continue throughout the school-life. The Guidance Curriculum Action Plan would therefore incorporate lesson contents from elementary school that is age and competence appropriate. The guidance lesson would begin with Feelings Identification which will be presented to all classes (ASCA National Model, n.d.). . The purpose of this class is to target personal/social development and to help the student to gain self-discovery. The student will gain insight into who he/she is and who she/he would like to be. Hopefully, the student will identify how education can help him/her become who he/she would like to be. Another Guidance Lesson would be about the Self which targets academic development(ASCA National Model, n.d.). The idea is to help those students who are struggling academically improve their academic performance. This lesson would be offered to all students and will therefore target and continue to target students who are at risk of dropping out as a result of poor academic performance. This lesson will have students identify a period or event in their own lives that they are proud of and to help them make a correlation to that pride to academic progress. Hopefully, this lesson will help motivate students to focus more profoundly on academic progress. Another lesson in the action plan would be Problem Solving (ASCA National Model, n.d.). As with the other lessons, this lesson would be offered to all students during the school life. The idea is to teach students to make responsible decisions. This is particularly important for students at risk of dropping out. Students who face personal and family problems may seek to resolve those problems by dropping out of school. Likewise students who suffer from poor academic performance may seek the easy way out by dropping out. Problem Solving lessons will teach students that there problems will not go away and will be exacerbated if the student takes the easy way out. Students are taught that problems will not go away and must be resolved responsibly and sensibly. Family Relationships will also form a part of the Guidance Lesson Content (ASCA National Model, n.d.). This lesson will encourage students to identify the family constructs, where they live and how their family, ethnicity and culture influence them. This lesson will help counselors identify students who are at risk and require individual attention. Again this lesson will be offered throughout the school life so that students at risk do no slip between the cracks. The reality is, a student may start out as a part of a stable two-parent home. However, conflicts may develop in the home or the child’s parents may separate and the child will lose a valuable source of support and may become vulnerable to the drop-out rate. With Family Relationships constantly forming part of the student’s Guidance Curriculum content, counselors will be able to intervene at an early stage. D. Evaluating Progress In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the program I will collect data demonstrating the number of students who have been identified as exhibiting the factors that contribute to the drop-out rate. This evaluative process will ascertain that the program is useful for identifying students at risk of dropping out and as such can be effective in preventing or intervening to help that student remain in school. The next step in the evaluative process is to work with each of the students who have been identified as at risk of dropping out on an individual basis. The evaluative process will report on whether or not that child remained in school, despite being identified as being at risk of dropping out and has had the benefit of the comprehensive counseling program. Since academic performance is a contributing factor to the drop-out rate, I will prepare a detailed report demonstrating how the Guidance Curriculum Lesson Content helps students improve their academic performance. This will be done by presenting evidence of the identified students’ academic performance prior to participating in the Guidance Curriculum Lesson Content and after participating. A comparison of the two stages of the student’s academic performance will serve as evidence that the Guidance Curriculum Lesson Content is helping to improve academic performance and therefore eliminating one of the significant factors that contribute to the school drop-out rate. In time I will be able to amass evidence to reflect that the Guidance Action Plan is working by showing the number of students identified as at risk of dropping out and demonstrating that there is a correlation between the identification, intervention and retention rates. Ultimately, statistics showing a decline in the drop-out rate overtime since the implementation of the Action Plan will serve as evidence that it is having an impact on retention rates. A sample report is presented below: Reducing the Drop-Out Rate # of Students at Risk Intervention Drop-out Results Data Implications __________________________________________________________________ Family Problems Steps taken Yes/No State whether Students Individual Problems Steps taken Yes/No the student need help Academic Problems Steps taken Yes/No adjusted or adjusting to Demographics Steps taken Yes/No improved difficulties. A program audit will be conducted in the early stages for determining whether or not the program is able to at least identify students at risk of dropping out. Identification of those children is very important. The United States Education Code 2000 already aligns drop-out prevention with identifying at-risk students. Section 7264 of the United States Education Code 2000 specifically provides that funding will be granted to schools for a number of projects related to prevention of drop-out rates, including “identifying potential student dropouts” (United States Education Code 2000). The audit will focus equal attention on the effectiveness of counseling programs targeting academic performance (ASCA National Model, n.d.). The United States Education Code 2000, Section 7265 emphasizes academic performance in that is goes further to provide that grants under the code will be used for: (1) The establishment of systemwide or school-level policies, procedures, and plans for dropout prevention and school reentry; (2) The development and implementation of activities…designed to address poor achievement, basic skills deficiencies, language deficiencies, or course failures, in order to assist students at risk of dropping out of school… (United States Education Code 2000, Section 7265). Additional insight as to what should be included in the audit report is found in Section 7265 of the United States Education Code 2000. Section 7265(8) permits “the implementation of activities which will improve student motivation and the school learning environment”. Therefore evidence of motivational counseling sessions and its outcome for the student will also be detailed in the report. In other words the report will detailed the student’s demeanor prior to participating in the motivational counseling session and how that demeanor was addressed and if and how the student improved. Additionally, whether or not the child remained in school and whether or not that child’s academic performance improved will be detailed. The audit will set standards for future improvements in the comprehensive school counseling program designed to reduce the drop-out rate. The report is not expected to demonstrate perfect results. Rather it is intended to demonstrate its potential and how it can be improved to produce optimal results. The audit report will not only serve as a method for evaluating the success of the program but also for evaluating how it can be improved (ASCA National Model, n.d.). As the program is improved and as it progresses I will be able to extract more robust data demonstrating its success. The program does not have to identify every student at risk of dropping out or prevent every student at risk dropping out in order to be a success. As long as we are at least able to identify students at risk of dropping out and prevent some drop-outs, the program will be a success. Ultimately, we want to be in a position to be able to identify students at risk of dropping out and to be able to intervene. I believe that once we are armed with the capacity to identify and intervene, we are well on the way to improving the retention rate. Bibliography ASCA National Model, (n.d.) “Use of Data”. http://www.ascanationalmodel.org/content.asp?pl=21&sl=24&contentid=24 (Retrieved March 21, 2011). Lamb, S. (2011) School Dropout and Completion. New York, NY: Springer Publications. Unger, H. (2007) Encyclopedia of American Education. New York, NY: Infobase Publishing. United States Education Code 2000. Read More