“Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” - Henry James

“We need a Chief Dropout Officer,” Says Director of Directions for Our Youth – City Limits, 5/5/08

In a recent article titled, Turn On, Tune In, Stay In: Lowering the Dropout Rate, education reporter Helen Zelon covers actions being taken in New York City schools to stem the growing tide of middle and high school dropouts. While the Department of Education (DOE) has instituted a program called Multiple Pathways to Graduation, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott believes more needs to be done. Cary Goodman, Ph.D., executive director of the New York City-based nonprofit Directions for Our Youth and organizer of this year’s Dropout Summit, wants the DOE to stage a public awareness campaign and install one person in charge of dropout prevention for the city. New York City now ranks 43rd in graduation rates among the 50 largest cities in the United States.

Nine to Nineteen – To Engage Youth, Make Them Part of the Process

The Institute of Museum and Library Services has just released an important report citing the continued need for focused educational programming as part of library, museum, and after-school activities targeted for young adults. Among the initiatives mentioned in the report is the America’s Promise Alliance for Youth program, which seeks to provide safe places and effective education for at-risk youth, and Citizen Schools, a nonprofit organization that provides learning programs led by local business and community volunteers. The full report (PDF) is available on the IMLS Web site.

Success Highways Customer News

Success Highways Dropout Prevention Program Adopted for Use in Two California School Districts

ScholarCentric has recently welcomed Martin Murphy Middle School and Britton Middle School, both part of the Morgan Hill Unified School District (CA), and three Sweetwater Unified School District (CA) high schools to the growing list of educational institutions across the country that have implemented the Success Highways dropout prevention program.

At Martin Murphy Middle School, the program is impacting close to 200 students, and is being taught by a trained counselor with the assistance of classroom teachers as part of the social studies curriculum. At Britton Middle School, the Success Highways program will also be part of social studies classes taught once a week by a counselor. Each of the three high schools that are part of the Sweetwater USD will be rolling out the program somewhat differently to suit individual curriculum and teaching preferences. At Montgomery High School, Success Highways will be presented by a teacher in 1-2 lessons a week, with about 70 students. Sweetwater High School will use a full class period to introduce the program. Mar Vista High School has just begun implementation with a teacher who was trained in April and now has 105 students, mostly ninth graders, taking part in the program.

NEW AND FORTHCOMING BOOKS

Pollock, Mica. Everyday Antiracism: Getting Real about Race in School. New Press. June 2008. ISBN: 978-1-59558-054-2.

Rodríguez-Brown, Flora V. The Home-School Connection: Lessons Learned in a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Community. Routledge. July 2008. ISBN: 978-0-8058-5785-6.

Murray, Charles A. Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing American Schools Back to Reality. Crown Publishers. August 2008. ISBN: 978-0-307-40538-8

Egan, Kieran. The Future of Education: Reimagining Our Schools from the Ground Up. Yale University Press. September 2008. ISBN: 978-0-300-11046-3.

EVENT OF NOTE

National Middle School Association Annual Conference & Exhibit, October 30-November 1, 2008, Denver, Colorado

Ongoing professional development has never been more critical. The NMSA conference is known for being a forum for networking, sharing, and inspiring middle-level educators. The sessions will focus on the 14 characteristics of effective middle-level schools to ensure that the needs of students are met with care and concern. Highlights will include integration of technology with education in today's digital world. For more information and to register, visit the NMSA 2008 Conference page.

*Enjoy your summer! Success Highways News
will be resume publishing in early September.*

Have news you’d like to share? E-mail us at NewsEditor@ScholarCentric.com
(mailto:newseditor@scholarcentric.com)

About this Newsletter

Success Highways News is brought to you by ScholarCentric, publisher of Success Highways, a dropout prevention program for students in grades 7-9. You can reach us at info@scholarcentric.com, visit our Web site at http://www.scholarcentric.com, or call us at our toll free number 800-995-8779.

To ensure delivery of this newsletter, please add @scholarcentric.com to your e-mail whitelist.

Back to SuccessHighways Newsletters