The National Dropout Prevention Center/Network Message is Shared Nationally and Globally
This fall, representatives of the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N) are sharing research findings and graduation rate improvement strategies from coast to coast and with leaders of other nations. NDPC/N’s release of new research revealing impact measures of effective strategies along with the popularity of NDPC/N’s new Web site, www.dropoutprevention.org, have generated widespread interest in the resources and message of NDPC/N.
On September 9, Sandy Addis, Director of NDPC/N, spoke at the Dropout Prevention Summit in Washington, DC, sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Dr. Addis was invited by conference organizers to address the state of dropout prevention in the United States for an audience of international researchers and education ministry leaders from Cambodia, India, Tajikistan, and Timor-Leste.
On September 11, Bob Collins, NDPN Board Chair, and Sandy Addis addressed a meeting of over 50 school superintendents from San Diego County, CA, on the offerings of NDPC/N and the benefits of membership in the National Dropout Prevention Network.
On September 16, Shawn Wilson, NDPN Board Member, John Gailer, NDPC/N’s Assistant Director for Conference Events and Outreach, and Sandy Addis, NDPC/N Director, met with Ford Motor Company Fund leaders and community leaders in Detroit, MI, to plan the 2016 National Dropout Prevention Conference that will be held on October 2–5, 2016, at the Detroit Marriott at Renaissance Center.
On September 17, as part of the federally funded rural dropout prevention initiative, Sandy Addis hosted a nationally aired Webinar titled High School Graduation Coaches in Rural Contexts from the studios of Clemson Broadcast Productions. On the Webinar, Pamela Sparklingeyes, Director of Aboriginal Learning Services of the Edmonton Catholic School District in Alberta , described how her district learned of the graduation coach model at National Dropout Prevention Center events, used it to increase graduation rates, and spread it to other school systems across Canada.
On September 20-23, NDPC/N staff will be in Biloxi, MS, to lead school and district teams from Mississippi, Minnesota, Georgia, Arizona, and Alabama toward develop research-based graduation rate improvement plans for their schools and school districts. This event, the Diploma Planning Institute, replicates a successful initiative that the NDPC/N team delivered to district dropout prevention teams in Maine earlier this summer.
On September 29, Sandy Addis will speak to an audience of Wyoming education leaders at the Fall AdvanceEd Conference in Casper, WY, on the topic, Using the 15 Effective Strategies for Dropout Prevention to improve Gradation Rates.
