US News & World Report’s “High School Notes” queries NDPC/N Director Sandy Addis in a look at how alternative education settings provide a model for students to earn their diploma outside the traditional high school setting.
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Despite progress, dropouts remain serious problem
We have plenty of proof that even the most at-risk students can succeed in school when caring adults get involved in a purposeful way. That’s why hundreds of experts from all across the country will gather in San Antonio this week for the 2015 National Dropout Prevention Network Conference. By exchanging research, ideas and best practices, we are exploring ways to reduce dropouts in every community.
2015 NDPN Conference Attracts Attendance From Across the Nation
Clemson, SC (October 29, 2015) – The 2015 National Dropout Prevention Network Conference was held in San Antonio, Texas, October 25-28, 2015. The conference was the nation’s largest convening of education leaders and dropout prevention practitioners on the topic of improving K-12 graduation rates in recent years. The conference was attended by over 800 participants from 48 states that included education leaders such as state superintendents, district superintendents, state department of education officials, principals, counselors, and teachers. Also represented strongly were social workers, juvenile justice personnel, truancy officials, state and community support agencies, and local school board members.
The conference featured keynote addresses by Dr. Bill Daggett and Lt. Col. (Retired) Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch. A general session addressing the importance of personal relationships with all students was led by Aric Bostick. A panel discussion addressing challenges and solutions of rural dropout prevention was led by Joaquin Tamayo from the United States Department of Education, and a panel discussing future education and technology trends was facilitated by Shawn Wilson of the Ford Motor Company Fund. The conference included a special strand of breakout sessions on the graduation rate progress made by 14 different rural states that currently participate in a federally funded rural dropout prevention project.
The conference featured 103 special interest sessions on topics ranging from truancy prevention to dropout early warning systems. The conference was attended by several groups of special guests such as 20 Call Me MISTER undergraduate students from Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, and four groups or individuals who were winners of the National Dropout Prevention Network’s 2015 Crystal Star Awards for Excellence in Dropout Recovery, Intervention, and Prevention.
The 2015 National Dropout Prevention Network Conference was attended by over 80 practitioners from across the nation who are earning credits toward National Dropout Prevention Specialist Certification. The conference included entertainment by several student groups including the Air Force JROTC Honor Guard from Judson High School, the Judson High School Cantata Choir, the Irving Middle School Mariachi Band, and the Salinas Elementary School Choir.
Dr. Sandy Addis, Director of the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network, evaluated the conference as a tremendous success. “This was our biggest and best conference in recent years,” he said. “Our attendance was up 25% over the 2014 conference and the general and special-topic sessions were of highest quality. We were fortunate to have the assistance of numerous agencies and organizations in Texas to host this conference. We were also fortunate to have generous corporate conference supporters like the Ford Motor Company Fund and Dollar General,” Addis said.
The National Dropout Prevention Center/Network, the nation’s oldest dropout prevention organization, hosts several national and regional conferences each year at various locations across the nation to train leaders and educators who work to improve graduation rates. In addition to conference offerings, the Center/Network offers research, tools, publications, and technical assistance services to improve the nation’s graduation rates. The 2016 National Dropout Prevention Network Conference will be held October 2-5 in Detroit, Michigan. Additional information may be found on the Center/Network’s Web site, www.dropoutprevention.org.
About the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N)
Established in 1986 with a mission to reduce dropout rates, the NDPC/N shares solutions for student success and dropout prevention through its clearinghouse function, active research and evaluation projects, publications, and a variety of professional development activities and conferences. The organization’s Web site—www.dropoutprevention.org—is the nation’s leading resource in providing effective, research-based solutions to engaging students and reducing dropout. The NDPC/N is housed in the Eugene T. Moore School of Education at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina.
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For Additional Information Contact:
Dr. Sandy Addis, Director
National Dropout Prevention Center/Network
Phone: 864-656-2599
Email: haddis@clemson.edu
Read a recent report from MENTOR National Mentoring Partnership, The Mentoring Effect: Young People’s Perspectives on the Outcomes and Availability of Mentoring.
The National Mentoring Partnership with support from AT&T and written by Mary Bruce and John Bridgeland of Civic Enterprises with Hart Research, the report confirms what past research has indicated: quality mentoring relationships provide young people with positive and complementary benefits on a variety of personal, academic and professional factors. However, more than one in three young people – an estimated 16 million – have never had an adult mentor of any kind while growing up. This includes an estimated 9 million at-risk youth, who are less likely to graduate high school, go on to college and achieve social and economic mobility. Encouragingly, an estimated 4.5 million at-risk young people will have a structured mentoring relationship while growing up.
National Dropout Prevention Network and Catapult Learning, Inc. Form Alliance to Address Dropout Prevention and Recovery Strategies
Clemson, SC—(October 6, 2015) – The National Dropout Prevention Network (NDPN) and Catapult Learning, Inc., the nation’s largest provider of K−12 contracted instructional services, have formed an alliance to address dropout prevention and recovery strategies. The announcement was made today by Dr. Sandy Addis, Director of the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N), and Stuart Udell, Executive Chairman of Catapult Learning.
Established in 1986 as a national clearinghouse for effective, research-based solutions for engaging students and reducing dropout rates, the NDPC/N has become the country’s leading resource for proven dropout prevention strategies and programs. Its monthly TV webcast, Solutions to the Dropout Crisis, has long been generously supported by Catapult Learning.
Catapult Learning, which partners with more than 500 school districts throughout the U.S. to support individual student needs and build instructional and leadership capacity, also serves those who have struggled to complete their high school education. The company’s tuition-free Catapult Academy program provides an alternative path to graduation for students who have dropped out of high school. The program’s academic and intervention services—including individualized instruction and educational technology—put into practice several key components of the NDPC/N’s 15 Effective Strategies for Dropout Prevention, and students completing the program receive a high school diploma from their home school district.
The NDPN–Catapult Learning partnership will inform stakeholders in both organizations on mutual capabilities in dropout prevention and recovery, and will feature collaborations on regional and national forums and conferences dedicated to sharing effective dropout reduction strategies, and work to improve student outcomes toward graduation.
“The NDPC/N and Catapult share a common goal and mission in dropout prevention and recovery, as both organizations work to ensure that every student graduates from high school prepared for the opportunities that await them,” stated Udell. “We’re excited to kick off our partnership as participants in the Network’s national conference, and we look forward to future collaborations focused on improving opportunities for our young people to succeed in school and beyond.”
Udell will be one of three panelists conducting the workshop Dropout Recovery: Creating Effective Partnerships to Ensure Student Success during the 2015 National Dropout Prevention Network Conference on October 25–28, 2015, at the Wyndham San Antonio Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. Udell’s workshop is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday, October 26, in the hotel’s Executive Salon 4.
“We are tremendously pleased to have educators from Catapult Learning as presenters at our upcoming conference, and to have them allied with us in the national effort to combat dropout and increase graduation rates,” said Addis. “Our partnership represents an ongoing commitment to bring all the resources possible in ensuring that students graduate from high school having had all the supports necessary to succeed.”
For additional information on the October 25−28 Network Conference, or to register, please visit www.dropoutprevention.org/conferences.
About the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N)
Established in 1986 with a mission to reduce dropout rates, the NDPC/N shares solutions for student success and dropout prevention through its clearinghouse function, active research and evaluation projects, publications, and a variety of professional development activities and conferences. The organization’s Web site—www.dropoutprevention.org—is the nation’s leading resource in providing effective, research-based solutions to engaging students and reducing dropout. The NDPC/N is housed in the Eugene T. Moore School of Education at Clemson University in Clemson, SC.
About Catapult Learning, Inc.
Catapult Learning, Inc., the largest provider of K–12 contracted instructional services in the U.S., is dedicated to improving academic performance for at-risk and struggling students, including potential dropouts and those with learning and emotional disabilities. The company’s comprehensive portfolio of proven-effective services and solutions complement school and district programs in supporting low-performing students, regardless of learning barrier. With an uncompromising commitment to educational quality, Catapult Learning’s team of 5,600 educators work to achieve sustained academic gains and build teacher and leadership capacity through research-based programs that include intervention, alternative school education, assessment, school improvement, and professional development solutions. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, the company reaches over 300,000 students and 25,000 teachers annually across 500 school districts nationwide.
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Contacts for Media:
Mark Cheatham
Public Information Director
National Dropout Prevention Center/Network
Phone: (864) 656-4139
Email: mrc2@clemson.edu
Attendance is key to student success
September was Attendance Awareness Month, and studies show that there is a direct link between absenteeism and high school dropouts. Statistics tell us that three-fourths of students who are chronically absent in sixth grade will drop out of high school and that a student who is chronically absent in high school is 7.4 times more likely to drop out. It is up to us to give children a reason to stay in school.
Article from: http://www.sfexaminer.com/attendance-is-key-to-student-success/
The National Dropout Prevention Center/Network Message is Shared Nationally and Globally
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.
The National Dropout Prevention Network and BrightBytes Form Strategic Alliance
Clemson, SC (September 15, 2015) — The National Dropout Prevention Network (NDPN) and BrightBytes have formed a strategic alliance as part of the organizations’ shared commitment to help reduce the nation’s dropout rates, and to enable students to graduate from high school ready for college and career.
Through the NDPN and BrightBytes partnership, the two will inform stakeholders on the application of analytics to student data, collaborate on regional and national forums and conferences dedicated to sharing effective dropout reduction strategies, and work to improve student outcomes toward graduation and beyond.
“Our collaboration with BrightBytes enhances what our Network is dedicated to every day, and that is providing teachers, counselors, https://dropoutprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/C.W.-Gardenhire-pic.jpgistrators, and school districts with effective, research-based solutions to help eliminate dropout, including identification and support of at-risk students,” said Dr. Sandy Addis, Director of the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N). “The tools BrightBytes has developed to identify risk factors and intervene with appropriate support and resources at an early stage are of critical importance to reducing dropout.”
BrightBytes is a learning analytics organization focused on providing data solutions that improve learning outcomes for students in schools worldwide. Their Clarity platform—used by 1 in 5 schools, and in 40 states across the U.S.—translates complex analysis and cutting-edge research into fast actions that drive outcomes. The tech company’s awards include Most Promising EdTech Startup in 2014 by the Global EdTech Startup Competition, and the 2015 EdTech Trendsetter Award for Clarity.
“I have long admired the work and mission of the NDPC/N,” said Rob Mancabelli, BrightBytes’ CEO, and a long-time educator. “BrightBytes shares the Network’s commitment to increasing high school graduation rates through research and evidence-based solutions, and I look forward to working together to ensure that every student graduates high school ready for college and career.”
According to research by NDPC/N, dropping out of school is usually the result of a long process of disengagement that can begin even before a child enters school. BrightBytes’ Early Warning module, informed through a partnership with Mazin Education, can accurately identify at-risk students as early as kindergarten so that there is sufficient time to implement interventions and avert a potential dropout outcome.
About the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N)
Established in 1986 with a mission to reduce dropout rates, the NDPC/N shares solutions for student success and dropout prevention through its clearinghouse function, active research and evaluation projects, publications, and a variety of professional development activities and conferences. The organization’s Web site—www.dropoutprevention.org—is the nation’s leading resource in providing effective, research-based solutions to engaging students and reducing dropout. The NDPC/N is housed in the Eugene T. Moore School of Education at Clemson University in Clemson, SC.
About BrightBytes
BrightBytes’ cutting-edge analytics platform gathers research from the best experts in the world, and creates evidence-based frameworks that help educational leaders make better decisions for students. The company’s flagship platform, Clarity, makes research and analysis simple, fun, and actionable. More information about BrightBytes can be found at www.BrightBytes.net.
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Contacts for Media:
Mark Cheatham
Public Information Director
National Dropout Prevention Center/Network
Phone: (864) 656-4139
Email: mrc2@clemson.edu
Sue Hanson
PR with Panache!
Phone: (763) 657-0987
Email: sue@prwithpanache.com
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The National Dropout Prevention Network and BrightBytes Form Strategic Alliance | Story from Tech & Learning | September 15, 2015
National Dropout Prevention Network and ViziTech USA Form Partnership to Help Improve Student Learning Outcomes
Clemson, SC (September 10, 2015) – The National Dropout Prevention Network (NDPN) and ViziTech USA, a high-tech training and education company, have formed a partnership to help improve student learning outcomes and reduce the nation’s dropout rate.
ViziTech USA, based in Eatonton, GA, is a state-of-the-art training and education company, specializing in 3D and interactive/augmented reality learning programs and technology. In addition to military and commercial clients, ViziTech USA’s programs are used in the school systems of seven states and at 19 universities, colleges, and career-technical colleges throughout the U.S.
“We’re pleased to be in partnership with ViziTech USA,” said Sandy Addis, Director of the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N). “Their advancements in the application of new technologies are changing the way students learn, while providing them with new ways to engage in learning. Students who are actively engaged at school have better outcomes and are much less likely to drop out.”
Through the partnership, NDPN and ViziTech USA will collaborate on regional and national forums and conferences dedicated to sharing effective dropout reduction strategies, and improving student outcomes toward graduation and beyond.
“As supporters of, and advocates for, education, ViziTech USA looks forward to collaborating with the National Dropout Prevention Network,” said Brig. Gen. Stewart Rodeheaver, U.S. Army (RET), the company’s founder. “We share their commitment to helping to ensure that students are engaged in learning, and that they graduate from high school ready for college or career.”
About the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N)
Established in 1986 with a mission to reduce dropout rates, the NDPC/N shares solutions for student success and dropout prevention through its clearinghouse function, active research and evaluation projects, publications, and a variety of professional development activities and conferences. The organization’s Web site—www.dropoutprevention.org—is the nation’s leading resource in providing effective, research-based solutions to engaging students and reducing dropout. The NDPC/N is housed in the Eugene T. Moore School of Education at Clemson University in Clemson, SC.
About ViziTech USA
Founded in 2009, ViziTech USA is a national leader in the application of computer-generated imagery (CGI), 2D (two-dimensional), 3D (three-dimensional), A/R (augmented reality), and other technologies. The company offers curriculum and course development, live filming, and other services including interactive 3D programs that deepen the understanding of procedures, critical path thinking skills, and problem solving. Rodeheaver was recognized by the Technology Association of GA in 2011 as Technology Entrepreneur of the Year, and ViziTech USA as Coolest Technology Company.
-ndpc/n-
Contacts for Media:
Mark Cheatham
Public Information Director
National Dropout Prevention Center/Network
Phone: (864) 656-4139
Email: mrc2@clemson.edu