Here is an instance of using new media and emerging technology to stem the rising tide of students dropping out of school.
http://www.myfuturemydecision.org/
Reaching Dropouts with New Media
By Lesli A. Maxwell
To raise anemic high school graduation rates, education leaders in Los Angeles are turning to YouTube, MySpace, text messaging, and the radio waves to reach students at risk of dropping out of school and lure back thousands who have already left.
The Los Angeles Unified School District—the nation’s second largest, with 708,000 students—is believed to be one of the first districts to use social-networking Web sites and text-messaging communications as a vital part of a dropout-reduction strategy.
Students who abandoned the city’s high schools and have come back to finish their diplomas will be the primary messengers to their at-risk peers in the new campaign, said Debra Duardo, the director of Los Angeles Unified’s dropout-prevention and -recovery program. They will post video testimonials on YouTube and build groups on popular MySpace message boards to spread the word about their own experiences and the alternatives for earning a diploma, which don’t necessarily require a return to one of the district’s giant four-year high schools.
With a list of at least 17,000 dropouts to target for recovery this school year, leaders in Los Angeles Unified said they must use a variety of strategies to find the youths who have already left school. The district’s graduation rates have been under fire—especially during Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s campaign last year to gain some control over the school system.
But district officials will have to do more than simply get those students back in school for the program to be successful, experts say.
“The new-media approach is very creative and thoughtful and should reach kids where they are,” said Russlynn Ali, the executive director of the Education Trust-West, an Oakland, Calif.-based research and advocacy group that supports increased rigor in high schools for all students. “For the district to take this on is really a big deal, but where they run a risk is if it ends up being dropout recovery for the purpose of recovery only and not for getting these kids meaningful diplomas that prepare them for college and work.”
Al
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5 comments:
Hi Al--I am amazed that the number of dropouts is the magnitude it is but I imagine that it makes sense in the 2nd largest school district. I am happy to see that technology is able to be used to reach dropouts in an effort to help them regain thier student status or finish school in some respect. I imagine that the likes of youTube and mySpace are excellent modalities for capturing the interest of students across the country. Hopefully other school districts will follow the lead taken by LAUSD. Thanks for sharing!
I can't imagine 17,000 drop outs! That is such a sobering number. I think it's a wonderful thing that LA Unified is trying creative approaches that might just reach those students and bring them back to education.
Sometimes all it takes is being out in the real world for a little while to make students realize that they need that diploma. I know that was the case for my step-brother. He thought that everything was going to be great when he dropped out of school in 10th grade, and boy was he shocked into reality. He ended up getting his GED, and now he owns his own business.
Al,
A few of my administrators visited LAUSD about a month ago to see a few of their alternative programs to keep kids moving towards their diploma. They came back excited about new ideas to help kids with credit recovery in meaningful ways - I haven't heard technology mentioned, but now I know to ask! Great post!
Al, I had the same reaction as Shane and Heather when I read this post. Those numbers are absolutely incredible! I followed the link to "My Future, My Decision," and then followed some of those links to further explore. It looks like there are some great people working on some great resources in order to bring those numbers down.
Thanks for your thoughts!
I think this is a great idea that every school district should adopt.
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