Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, Ph.D.

1
School Counseling to Decrease Drop Out Rates A
Social Justice Framework for Success

• Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, Ph.D.
• Johns Hopkins University
• Baltimore MD

2
ObjectivesAt the end of todays session,
participants will..

• Be knowledgeable of a social justice framework
  for school counseling
• Be knowledgeable of data pertaining to Prince
  William Countys drop out rates
• Be knowledgeable of risk factors and predictors
  of dropping out
• Be knowledgeable of how school counselors can
  play a critical role in drop out prevention
• Be knowledgeable of successful drop out
  prevention programs and strategies

3
Social Justice Counseling
4
Traditional vs. Social Justice Approach to
School Counseling

• Traditional SC Approach
• Dependence on counseling theories and approaches
  with little to no regard for cultural background
• Emphasis on individual student factors (e.g.,
  unmotivated, depressed)
• Emphasis on equality
• Reliance on labels
• Little to no use of data
• Focus on maintaining status quo
• Focus on enrolling students in comfortable
  courses

• Social Justice SC Approach
• Major focus is on highlighting the strengths of
  students (empowerment-based counseling)
• Emphasis on systemic, socio-cultural and
  environmental factors that influence student
  behavior
• Major goal is to challenge oppression
• Emphasis on equality and equity
• Avoidance of labeling
• Dependence on data
• Focus on changing existing policies and
  strategies
• Focus on enrolling students in more rigorous
  courses

5
Six Key Elements to Social Justice Focused School
Counseling

• Counseling and Intervention Planning
• Consultation
• Connecting Schools, Families, and Communities
• Collecting and Using Data
• Challenging Bias
• Coordinating Student Services

Holcomb-McCoy, C. (2007). School Counseling to
Close the Achievement Gap A Framework for
Success. Thousand Oaks, CA Corwin Press.
6
Counseling and Intervention Planning

• Counseling must be culturally responsive and
  inclusive of cultural implications
• Assess and consider environmental factors (e.g.,
  immigration laws, fear in community, distrust in
  community, poverty) that impact student and
  parent problems
• Use a strengths-based approach or
  empowerment-focused approach
• Focus on the resilience of students and their
  families rather than their deficits.

7
(No Transcript)
8
Consultation

• Acknowledge cultural differences between the
  consultant (counselor), teacher/parent, and
  student.
• Develop a quality helping relationship with
  teachers and parents so that issues of equity can
  be discussed honestly.
• Use questions to incite new perspectives
  (Have you ever thought about how Chris feels
  when you tell him that he is not
  college-material?)
• Culturally responsive and empowerment-focused
  parent consultation is critical

9
Connecting Schools, Families, and Communities

• CREATE PARTNERSHIPS with community groups,
  businesses, community leaders, places of worship,
  etc.
• CREATE PARTNERSHIPS WITH ALL PARENTS (BE
  INCLUSIVE OF ALL PARENTS)
• A Partnership "implies a formal alliance and
  contractual agreement to work toward shared goals
  and to share the profits or benefits of mutual
  investments (Epstein, 1992)
• Information on Partnerships
• http//www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt
  /famncomm/pa400.htm

10
Collecting and Using Data

• Data can be useful in determining inequities in
  school achievement, attendance rates, dropout
  rates, suspensions, etc. What do I want to
  know about my schools ability to educate
  students?
• Types of data that can be collected
• achievement
• attainment
• opportunity
• school culture/climate

11
Challenging Bias

• Be aware of teachers (and other professionals)
  biased attitudes, stereotypes and expectations
  that can hinder students development and
  opportunities
• Actively listen to and learn from others
  experiences
• Acknowledge and appreciate diversity, dont just
  tolerate it!
• Be aware of your own hesitancies to intervene
• Expect tension and conflict
• Challenge the negative language used to
  describe and talk about students
• ACTIVITY What do you do when you hear a biased
  and/or prejudiced remark made by a
  teacher/colleague about a student? Do you react
  or challenge the remark or ignore it? Why? Is
  ignoring bias
• damaging?

12
Coordinate Student Services

• Implement scheduling that encourages rigorous
  course taking
• Say no to gatekeeping
• Say no to tracking
• Coordinate college preparation interventions
• Coordinate tutoring/academic/mentoring services
• Participate on special committees (IEP, G/T) to
  promote EQUITY

13
A Social Justice Framework
Keys Activity Description Goals Who is involved? Expected Outcome
Counseling
Consultation
Connecting School-Family-Community
Collecting Data
Challenge Bias
Coordinate Student Services
14
Dropping Out A Social Justice Issue
15
Drop Out Rates Nationwide
16
Drop Out Rate Prince William County Public
Schools

• 10.1

17
High School A in Prince William County Drop
Out Rates
18
High School B in Prince William County Public
Schools Drop Out Rates
19
Dropout Population in PWCS
20
What do we know about dropping out? What does
the research say?
21
The Dropout Gap

• A disproportionate number of minority students
  leave high school before graduating
• The schools with the lowest student-retention
  power across the nation--- promoting powerhave
  a minority enrollment of 90 or more.
• Schools with high percentages of low-income or
  minority students tend to have poor academic
  performance and high dropout rates, and schools
  with the most low-income students are
  concentrated in urban/metropolitan communities.

Source Neild, R.C. Balfanz, R. (2006).
Unfulfilled promise The dimensions and
characteristics of Philadelphias dropout
crisis, 2000-2005. Baltimore Center for Social
Organization of Schools, Johns Hopkins
University.
22
Predicting Dropping Out

• To identify who is the most likely to drop out,
  schools need to identify students who
• Receive poor grades in core subjects
• Possess low attendance rates
• Fail to be promoted to the next grade
• Are disengaged in the classroom
• The predictor that is most indicative of dropping
  out is whether a student has repeated a grade in
  elementary or middle school

Viadero, D. (2006, June 22). Signs of early exit
for dropouts abound. Education Week, 25, 20.
23
Ninth Grade

• A critical make it or break it year when students
  get on- or off-track to succeed in high school
• More students fail ninth grade than any other
  high school grade
• A disproportionate number of students who are
  held back in ninth grade subsequently drop out.

24
At-Risk 6th Graders

• Attended school less than 80 of the time
• Received a poor final grade from their teachers
  in behavior
• Were failing either math or English

Source National High School Center
(betterhighschools.org)
25
At Risk 8th Graders

• Attending school less than 80 of the time (e.g.,
  missing at least five weeks of school)
• Receiving a failing grade in math and/or English
  during 8th grade

26
At-Risk 9th Graders

• Attended less than 70 of the time
• Earned fewer than 2 credits, and/or
• Were not promoted to 10th grade on time

27
At-Risk 9th Graders

• Attended less than 70 of the time
• Earned fewer than 2 credits, and/or
• Were not promoted to 10th grade on time

28
Social Indicators of Dropping Out

• Abused and Neglected Students substantiated
  cases of abuse or neglect during high school
  years, foster care placement, and giving birth
  within four years of starting high school are
  predictors of dropping out
• Behavior Middle school behavior marks. Sixth
  graders with poor behavior have a one in four
  chance of making it to the 12th grade on time
• Mobility Changing schools can be a challenge to
  high school completion

29
Implications for School Counselor Practice

• Different groups of students will need different
  interventions
• Students need to have a strong relationship
  with at least one person in the school!
• The number of students (particularly middle
  schoolers) needing additional supports can easily
  reach 50 to 100 students per school
• Acknowledge the impact of adolescence
• Acknowledge the impact of poverty
• Develop preventative and proactive strategies to
  mitigate the effects of poverty and other risk
  factors
• Have strong school-wide instructional programs,
  quality teachers, and strong professional
  development/teacher support

30
Key Intervention Areas

• School-wide Interventions school-/classroom-
  wide interventions for all students, staff,
  settings preventative strategies
• Targeted Interventions Specialized group
  strategies for students with at-risk behavior
• Intensive Interventions Specialized
  individualized interventions for students with
  high-risk behavior

31
Three Key Intervention Areas Attendance
32
Three Key Intervention Areas Behavior
33
Three Key Intervention Areas Rigor/Academics/Cour
se Failure
34
Best Practices

• School Climate
• Rigor
• Effective Teachers
• Extended Learning Time

35
School Climate

• Ease the transition into high school
• Provide rigorous and relevant curriculum
• Ensure K-12 alignment and alignment with state
  standards
• Implement meaningful professional development for
  teachers and other professionals
• Ensure that students-at-risk have at least one
  adult that is monitoring their progress
• Ensure that students-at-risk have a positive
  relationship with at least one adult at the
  school.
• Prepare students for rigor in a way that does not
  bore them

36

• What can school counselors do to improve their
  schools climate?

37
Charting Interventions School Climate
Counseling Consultation Collecting Utilizing Data Challenging Bias Creating Partnerships Coordinate Student Services


38
Rigor

• Provide supports so that students stay on track
  to graduate
• Extend learning time
• Provide challenging learning opportunities, even
  in catch-up courses, so that students remain
  engaged
• Align performance standards to college and career
  readiness
• Focus on transitions from high school to college
  and careers as well as on transitions into high
  school

39

• What can school counselors do to improve the
  academic rigor at their schools?

40
Rigor
41
Effective Teachers

• Highly qualified and effective teachers exert a
  strong influence on student success
• At-risk students must have access to effective
  teachers with a track record of success
• Achievement gaps can be narrowed and even closed
  if economically disadvantaged students are given
  successful, highly motivated and experienced
  teachers

42

• What can school counselors do to improve
  teacher quality at their schools?

43
Teacher Quality
44
Successful Dropout Prevention Programs

• Programs with Evidence of Success
• Achievement for Latinos through Academic Success
  provides student supports and builds bridges
  between homes and schools. The program employs
  counselors who provide coordinated supports to
  students and parents, and monitors students
  progress and attendance. Special emphasis is on
  positive reinforcements and group bonding
  activities. Parents are provided with direct
  instruction and modeling on how to participate in
  their childs schooling.

45
Successful Dropout Prevention Programs

• Programs with Evidence of Success
• Check Connect provides trained monitors to
  small groups of students. The monitors closely
  follow tardiness, absenteeism, behavioral
  referrals, and academic performance and met with
  individual students each week, staying in touch
  with students family members about progress

46
Successful Dropout Prevention Programs

• Programs with Evidence of Success
• Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program (VYP) provides
  intensive tutoring that focuses on academic
  achievement as well as engaging students, and
  includes student tutors and cross-age tutoring
  groups
• Talent Development High Schools provide three
  supports in ninth grade to help bolster positive
  outcomes regarding attendance, academic course
  credits earned, and rates of promotion to 10th
  grade
• Ninth grade success academies schools within a
  school, wherein groups of ninth graders share
  classrooms and teachers
• Block scheduling double dosing of catch-up
  courses in math and reading
• Specialized high school prep classes to smooth
  the transition to high school

47
Next Steps Need Integrated Supports

• Put all of these interventions in place in a
  coordinated, integrated, and comprehensive
  fashion in schools
• Establish effective partnerships between schools
  and social service providers
• School counselors take a leadership role in the
  challenge to decrease the drop out rate in PWCS
• Establish social justice-focused school
  counseling programs and activities.

48
Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, Ph.D.

• Johns Hopkins University
• Department of Counseling and Human Services
• cholcom1_at_jhu.edu