High-Poverty Learners: School Practices that Work
William Parrett, Director, and Robert Barr, Senior Analyst, Center for School Improvement and Policy Studies, Boise State University, ID

Findings from 18 state and national studies of high-poverty/high-performing schools indicate a common pattern of improvement design and intervention. Each of these schools successfully improved aspects of its district’s and/or school’s leadership capacity to better target and serve low-SES students. This session will provide compelling research, program and policy recommendaitons, and effective classroom strategies.

Strand: Dropout Prevention Strategies, NEW!
Grade Level: K–8

Turning At-Risk Learners into Successful High School Graduates
Franklin Schargel, Senior Managing Associate, School Success Network, NM

An inner-city high school composed almost entirely of minority students lowered its dropout rate, increased family involvement, signed business partnerships, and developed school-community collaborations while sending 72.1% of its first-generation high school graduates to post-secondary school. Learn how to increase graduation rate, involve staff in the improvement process, increase family/parent involvement, develop school-community collaborations, and create partnership agreements with institutions of higher learning to help students make a smooth transition from high school through college.

Strand: Dropout Prevention Strategies
Grade Level: 7–12

Data to Draw Dropouts out of the Shadows
David Kopperud, Educational Programs Consultant, Fontana District Office, Fontana USD, CA

Two data-collection tools used for dropout prevention will be demonstrated. The first tool tracks student interventions from the SST level to the court level and is used in California as part of our school attendance review board (SARB) process. The second tool is required in all states under the Uniform Management Information and Reporting System (UMIRS). UMIRS collects truancy rates and suspension/expulsion data at the school level, as well as school climate data.

Strand: Dropout Prevention Strategies
Grade Level: K–12

Strategies Ensuring Poor and Minority Students Achieve
William Parrett, Director, and Robert Barr, Senior Analyst, Center for School

Improvement and Policy Studies, Boise State University, ID Recent research by the Education Trust, the U.S. Department of Education, and Regional Educational Laboratories has found low- performing schools serving poor, at-risk students that have become high- performing schools. This session by the authors of The Kids Left Behind will report on the processes these schools have used to improve the performance of all students—especially lower quartile of achievement. Case studies will be included.

Strand: Dropout Prevention Strategies
Grade Level: K–12

Model Practices in Continuation Education
Linda Coyne, Director, Principal & Field Colleague, and Reyna Toledo, Outreach Consultant, Pinnacles High School, Soledad USD, CA

This session will focus on a continuation high school which has undergone structural, program, and staff changes to create a school without failure, so students can realize their educational dreams while enjoying their educational experience more fully. Improvements in attendance, transfer policies, home-school communication, curriculum, test preparation, community collaborations, and implementation of WASC recommendations have helped to create a model program.

Strand: Dropout Prevention Strategies
Grade Level: 9–12

The Face of Test Stress: Teacher & Student Graphics & Test-Stress Solutions
Robert Rees, Director of Education, Institute of HeartMath, CA

Teacher and student drawings of their feelings about important tests reveal high levels of stress and even deeply disturbing emotions. Conversely, drawings by teachers and students who learn how to address stressful emotions associated with high-stakes tests show dramatically different feelings. This workshop provides graphic illustration of before- and-after emotional states related to high-stakes tests, and introduces specific tools and technologies to counter test stress.

Strand: Dropout Prevention Strategies, NEW!
Grade Level: K–12

Results-Based School Counseling & Student Support Guidelines
George Montgomery, Educational Programs Consultant, Learning Support & Partner Division, California Department of Education, CA

Counselors moving into the 21st century recognize greater demands placed on their performance and their time. A greater need for accountability, alignment with academic objectives, and providing more effective counseling interventions require a change in the way counselors operate. Anyone interested in learning about the national standards and the latest information on the development of the results-based school counseling and student support guidelines should attend this worthwhile workshop.

Strand: Dropout Prevention Strategies
Grade Level: K–12

Reaching and Teaching Homeless Students
Kate Bishop, CWA Coordinator, and Ellen Montgomery, Outreach Consultant, North Sacramento School District, CA

Learn how to comply with No Child Left Behind regulations and provide quality services to homeless students and their families. This session will focus on identification of homeless students, staff training, community collaboration, and providing appropriate services to children. Children living in homeless situations do not have to repeat the cycle. When we focus on resiliency-based strategies, these students can and do succeed!

Strand: Dropout Prevention Strategies, NEW!
Grade Level: K–6

In Their Own Words
Lauren Weiss, Teacher & DPS, Sun Valley Middle School, Los Angeles USD, CA

Learn how middle school teachers can start a dialogue about high school with middle school students. Our input helps you demystify fears about high school, teach resiliency, explain the importance of a high school diploma, discuss the CAHSEE, and make the transition to high school seamless for middle school students. Learn about the real- life fears 8th graders from this demographic have regarding high school. See examples of the tools used in real-life scenarios.

Strand: Dropout Prevention Strategies, NEW!
Grade Level: 7–8

Kids in Chaos
Ray Culberson, Director, San Bernardino City USD, CA

Do you have the skills to educate the emerging population of students who live with violence, neglect, and poverty? Whether African American, Latino, white, or any other race, Kids in Chaos are in and from all racial backgrounds. In this unique session, you will learn strategies for handling difficult students, as well as techniques for maintaining your own personal sanity as you try to effectively engage families who live in this environment.

Strand: Dropout Prevention Strategies, NEW!
Grade Level: K–12

The Role of Temperament in Teaching Social Skills to At-Risk Adolescents
Vicki Phillips, Director, Personal Development, CA

At-risk students tend to have a distinctive temperament and learning style, one often at odds with the approach favored by the teacher. In this highly interactive session, discover which of the four major personality temperaments is most like you, which tends to dominate mainstream education, and which is typical of at-risk students. Discover how to use students’ need to feel empowered and in charge and channel it in a positive direction—leading to responsibility and self-discipline.

Strand: Dropout Prevention Strategies
Grade Level: 7–12

SAP Referral-Intervention
Marlena Uhrik and Robin Rutherford, School Health Education Consultants, Safe and Healthy Kids Program, Learning Support & Partner Division, California Department of Education, CA

This session will discuss heavy use of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) in California high schools and co-occurring behaviors indicative of such use. We will look at current trends and decisions teens are making and the need for intervention. Find out how Student Assistance Programs (SAP) can be used as a referral-intervention process for students exhibiting at-risk behavior associated with drug and alcohol abuse. Handouts about SAP policy and sources of funding will be discussed.

Strand: Dropout Prevention Strategies, NEW!
Grade Level: K–12