Schools work to help students reach full adult potential

While that is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job, the reality is that professional educators at various levels must adapt strategically and collaboratively to address the many obstacles that keep students from reaching their adult potential.

Poverty, substance abuse, neglect, learning difficulties – and even a lack of love – can affect a student’s sense of self-worth and ambition.

Those factors often contribute to the struggles we encounter in keeping kids engaged in learning.

Research continues to reveal the importance of positive relationships between students and school personnel in reducing dropout rates.

During the 2006–07 school year, the district’s dropout rate was 5.74 percent, with 427 dropouts. Effective teaching practices, high expectations and flexibility are key to keeping our kids in school and on course to graduation.

Our high schools work in a variety of ways to improve students’ persistence to graduation.

In 2007 the district hired coordinators of site interventions to work with existing school-based clinicians, attendance advisers and counselors to keep struggling freshmen in school, address truancy and help students deal with a range of issues.

We’re continually grateful that voters approved a $96.5 million bond initiative in April 2006.

Nearly $30 million of that funding will go toward improving four of our five high schools – Parkview, Hillcrest, Kickapoo and Glendale.

We’re upgrading science and technology labs in those schools and providing other improvements to help students make the most of their secondary years and prepare to succeed in a rapidly changing world.

This year, we established the Project Lead the Way program in Kickapoo and Hillcrest high Schools to provide engineering and technology curricula to interested students. There is a growing need to inspire young people toward careers in engineering and technology. This program provides real-world engineering challenges for students to solve and answers the question, “What am I going to use this for?”

The A+ program allows students in all our high schools to earn state-paid financial assistance for tuition after graduation. The program has allowed more than 1,300 of our students to afford a higher education.

Educational options

It is unrealistic to expect that all students will graduate from high school and go to college.

While a key objective is to give college-bound students the tools they need to meet the challenges they will face, to ignore those who will not pursue a college education subjects them to joining the ranks of the working poor.

We know we can’t treat all students the same and must face the fact that some young people do not learn well in the traditional classroom. That’s why the district teamed up this year with Ozarks Technical Community College to begin the Middle College Program.

Beginning in fall 2008, the Middle College Program will help underserved high school students find careers in diesel technology or early childhood education programs.

More programs will be added in the future to serve perhaps several hundred students who may otherwise be tempted to drop out of school.

This will enrich our work force and allow our young people to find work that empowers them to make a significant contribution to society, rather than become reliant on it.

SP5

Finally, I’m pleased that our new Strategic Plan, SP5 approved in September, addresses the long-term challenges

the school district faces in providing a

productive work force

and reducing our dropout rate.

While we must always focus on the issues at hand, SP5 reminds us to connect the dots so that the decisions we presently make will have a positive long-term impact.

A few examples of SP5: During the next five years, we will strive to increase our graduation rate to 85 percent.

We’ll aim to increase the number of students taking the ACT exam to 85 percent and improve our average ACT composite score.

We’ll continue working to reduce student-classroom teacher ratio, which was 21-to-1 during the 2006–07 school year and to improve the quality of classrooms with air conditioning and learning environments that satisfy the community’s interest.

We will continue to offer more choice programs that keep students engaged in learning and eager to come to school because of what lies in store for them each day, and because they have worked to set goals for their future.

Norman Ridder, Ed.D., is superintendent of Springfield R-XII School District. He may be reached at nridder@spsmail.org.