A Philadelphia school experienced over 50% grade and attendance improvement last year! I know I am supposed to writing about education issues in Chicago, but blog posts are also intended for exclaiming things we find amazing… and significantly reducing your population of at-risk youth is phenomenal.
Here’s how they did it in Philadelphia:
John Hopkins University research discovered key factors that predict whether or not a student will graduate High School. Three determinants to a student’s future as early as sixth grade will decrease a student’s chances of graduating by 75%: substandard attendance, behavior, or course performance. Note the “OR” in the statement. Poor performance in any one of these indicators requires intervention.
Enter Diploma’s Now, a national collaboration who touched the lives of over 50% of students at risk for graduation in a single Philadelphia school. According to Education Week, Feltonville middle school students arrived to school early and stayed late to participate in volunteer driven academic, life learning activities. In a single year, over 80% of these students increased their course grades. Over half of at-risk students improved their attendance records. Click here to be wowed by some charts.
Diploma’s Now model of bringing in targeted community services to a single school is not new. At the United Way of America summit, May 2009, Education Secretary Arne Duncan spoke to the power of a school building. I paraphrase slightly:
We need to fundamentally change what a school building does. Our school buildings have these wonderful, wonderful physical assets. In every community around the country, every school has classrooms, libraries, gyms. Those schools belong to the community.
United Ways across the country, Diploma’s Now, and other community and charter schools allow students to become invested in achievement during their school’s off-hours. What a creative way to capture a young person’s desire to succeed.
