Urban CEO Superintendents’ Alternative Strategies in Reducing School Dropouts

Abstract

The focus is on strategies used by 10 urban districts to reduce school dropouts. Thirty-eight strategies for dropout prevention were identified. Although the majority identified dropout prevention strategies, only two districts referred to "recovery programs." If district spokespersons mentioned their CEOs using a systems approach in reducing dropouts, the program plans were more specific and recovery programs more active. A surprise was the silence about instructional initiatives for early grade intervention and dropout prevention. The most common prevention strategy was punitive measures involving the criminal justice system, that is, police departments, district attorneys. Thus, it is not surprising that the dropout rate in several of these cities remains unabated during the past 5 years.

Maintaining America's Egalitarian Edge in the 21st Century: Unifying K-12 and Postsecondary Education for the Success of All Students

“…Therefore, our recommendation to reform the system toward a more collaborative learning community for all students revisits and embellishes the alternative perspective offered by Dewey (1899); Usdan, Minar, and Hurwitz (1968);and Hoyle (1989aand Hoyle ( , 1989band Hoyle ( , 2007.…”

“…As stated earlier, college completion rates nationwide are abysmal, and demographics reveal that 40% of America's poor are children and that one in three is minority (Hoyle & Collier, 2006). Put together, these facts lend little optimism that the current addon, underfunded, overmandated education system can effectively reverse the failure patterns in American schools.…”

“…Take for example, the following problems facing the education system: High school dropout rates: A serious national problem, the estimated high school dropout rate continues to hover around 5% to 9% and can rise as high as 51% for Hispanic students (Hoyle & Collier, 2006). High school completion: Despite large increases in total numbers of high school graduates, especially among women and ethnic/ racial minorities, graduation rates remain roughly the same in comparison to data from 30 years ago (Haycock & Huang, 2001).…”

How Have Descriptions of the Arab-Israeli Conflict Changed in High School U.S. History Textbooks Since the 1950s?

“…Taking into consideration that America's high school dropout rate remains between 5% and 9% (Hoyle & Collier, 2006) (Haycock & Huang, 2001) however, that the nation's 100,000 schools and 3.2 million teachers are in dire need of reform (Hess & Stoddard, 2007). While the report's methodology and findings are too comprehensive to summarize here, the overview includes an interesting comparison of America's schools to recent economic troubles:…”

Beginning with the End in Mind: The District Office Leadership Role in Closing the Graduation Gap for At-Risk Students

“…Hoyle and Collier (2006) interviewed central office administrators in ten urban districts to ascertain what these districts were doing to prevent dropout outcomes. They grouped responses into six overarching categories: (1) punishments and incentives; (2) personnel; (3) targeted programs; (4) alternative schools; (5) community involvement; and (6) instructional initiatives.…”