June 2011 Word Up! Newsletter
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In Focus: Dropout Prevention
Engaging Parents to Support Academic Achievement
Academic achievement is a strong predictor of high school graduation and is critical to long-term success in college, work, and life. A sixth grader who fails math or English, has unsatisfactory behavior, or poor attendance has a 75% likelihood of dropping out. Freshmen in Chicago public schools who earn a B average or better have an 80% chance of finishing high school with at least a 3.0 GPA.
What Do We Know About Who Drops Out and Why?
Students decide to drop out for many reasons. This overview examines the personal, demographic, and school-related predictors associated with dropping out. Recognizing the differences among these factors is critical to designing effective interventions.
What Are the Key Components of Dropout Prevention Programs?
Dropout prevention research shows that most programs use more than one type of intervention (family outreach, academic tutoring, personalization and vocational training, for example). While there is no one right way to intervene, research has identified several key components to intervention success.
Visit the Dropout Prevention section of AdLit.org for more articles.
Books & Authors
Featured Author: John Green
John Green is the award-winning author (An Abundance of Katherines,, Looking for Alaska, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson). He's also a tireless nerdfighter, with a loyal online following of kids and adults dedicated to awesome.
Featured Booklist: All Kinds of Families
Too often TV and movies portray perfect families that teens can't relate to. Our list has great books with relatable families — some struggle with serious issues like addiction or mental illness; others with more mundane things like sibling rivalry. Oh, and we've thrown in a comic with supervillain parents.
Community
Low-Cost SAT/ACT Prep Program
eKnowledge and a group of NFL and MLB players have teamed up to distribute eKnowledge's SAT/ACT PowerPrep™ program — a DVD with more 170 video lessons, hundreds of practice questions with detailed explanations, 18 quizzes and over 40 hours of class work and 3,000 files of test prep material. Students select the training they need and can study at their own pace. The $200 PowerPrep™ Programs are available for just $17.55 (to cover shipping and customer/tech support).
Help with the Classics
Invitation to World Literature is a thirteen part series of videos about classic works of world literature, like Things Fall Apart, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, and The God of Small Things. Each video guides viewers through the themes and nuances of each work. The videos are accompanied by timelines and maps placing each work in its historical context. A text overview and short slideshow about each work is also provided.
Put a Pin in It
Have you got something interesting planned for National Summer Learning Day (June 21)? If so, put your project on the map with the National Summer Learning Association and check out their event planning kit.
Research & Policy
Improving Graduation Rates
The latest edition of Diplomas Count reports that high school graduation rates increased in three-quarters of the states and that the national rate is now 72%, the highest level in more than 20 years. But there's more work to be done: graduation rates for minority males hover around 50%. The report also tracks state-level policies related to exit exams, course completion, and advanced diplomas.
Public School Graduates and Dropouts from the Common Core of Data: School Year 2008-09
This report includes counts of high school graduates for school year 2008–09 for 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Across the United States, the 50 states and the District of Columbia reported that a total of 3,039,015 public school students received a high school diploma in 2008–09, resulting in a calculated Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate of 75.5%. This rate ranged from 56.3% in Nevada and 62.0% in Mississippi to 89.6% in Vermont and 90.7% in Wisconsin. The median state AFGR was 77.0%. Some 607,789 H.S. dropouts were reported, resulting in an overall event dropout rate of 4.1%. The calculated dropout rate was the lowest for Asian/Pacific Islander students at 2.4% and White students at 2.7% The dropout rates for Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Black students were 6.0%, 6.3%, and 6.6%, respectively. The dropout rate was higher among males in every state.
Read the report >>Featured Partner
Finding Inspiration in Literature and Film (F.I.L.M.)
F.I.L.M. is a movie curricula program designed in conjunction with movie studios and youth educators to get youth reading and watching quality content, provoke exploration of important themes and issues, and inspire participation in service projects. F.I.L.M. also offers supplemental guides on teaching with movies, service learning, and engaging at-risk youth in service.
"I am a Paraprofessional with Special Education and a full time student working on my K-8 Elementary Education degree. This site is amazing and full of wonderful resources. So glad I found AdLit.org!" — Rena
AdLit.org helps educators like Rena every day. Support our work by making a tax-deductible donation today.
All the best from AdLit.org
- Susannah Harris, Senior Manager, AdLit.org
- Noel Gunther, V.P, Learning Media
- Christian Lindstrom, Director, Learning Media
- Joanne Meier, Ph.D., Research Consultant
- Laura Schreiber, Web Producer
- Shalini Anand, Technical Web Manager
- Bridget Brady, Web and Video Coordinator
- Rachael Walker, Outreach Consultant
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