Published in the Patriot News, by Monica Von Dobeneck

September 2, 2014

First Lady Susan Corbett touted her "Opening Doors" initiative, a technology driven dropout prevention program, during a presentation at Annville-Cleona High School Tuesday.

Annville-Cleona is one of 35 new schools to be added to an initiative that was piloted last year in four school districts in the state. The South Middleton School District in Cumberland County is also on the list.

By the end of 2015, 50 schools will be added to the program, and Corbett said she hopes eventually all districts and charter schools in the state will join.

The early warning system uses data about absentee rates, behavior and course performance to target students in danger of dropping out while they are still in middle school. It then connects them with school, government and community resources that can help through an Intervention Catalog.

Corbett said studies have shown that, without intervention, students struggling in middle school have only a 20 percent chance of graduating. With interventions, that figure rises to 75 percent.

In her remarks, Corbett said someone without a high school degree will earn $1 million less during a lifetime than a college graduate, and will cost the public sector an average of $209,000 in public assistance and the correctional system.

"A high school diploma is the key to opening doors," she said.

Annville-Cleona might not seem a likely district to be chosen for the expanded program. It has a dropout rate of less than one percent, and a four-year graduation rate of 86.8 percent. The difference between the dropout and graduation rates occurs because special education students are allowed to stay in the school until they are 21, some students are held back, and some move from the district and cannot be tracked.

Last year's pilot schools included high dropout urban districts such as Harrisburg, Lancaster and Erie as well as the rural Albert Gallatin Area School District in Fayette County. Fewer than half of Harrisburg's students graduate in four years.

Annville-Cleona superintendent Steven Houser said even five or six students dropping out is too many. Back in the 1950's, half the high school students did not graduate, but there were jobs available for them then. That is no longer the case, he said.

Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq, who accompanied Corbett to the presentation, said the interventions will help struggling students perform better irrespective of dropout rates.

She said the 35 schools were chosen largely because they already have programs in place which will make the transition to the new software system easier.

Annville-Cleona already has connections to the community, and teams in each school which analyze student data, Houser said. It is adding a social worker to its staff.

The web-based catalog should make it easier to pair students with organizations that want to help. That could include non-profits like Big Brothers/Big Sisters, programs to help the homeless, or after-school church groups as well as professionals, government agencies and school resources.

"We met with organizations that want to help, but had not yet made those connections with the schools," Corbett said. "A lot of programs exist, but they are separate."

Corbett said many school districts applied for the program, and the team chose schools whose Information Technology vendors were willing and capable of working with the state Department of Education.

That was not the case with the first four pilot programs, but those four districts now have the requisite technological expertise. That's one thing the team learned was important during the pilot year, Dumaresq said.

She said early results from the pilot program look promising, although the data is not all in yet.

The $6 million program is funded through federal and private grants, including a Race to the Top grant, and private donations, Corbett said. There is no cost to the state or the school districts.

"The four pilots gave us feedback on making it work better. Now we're on to the next phase," Corbett said.

(Monica Von Dobeneck, "First Lady Susan Corbett touts expansion of dropout prevention program," Patriot News, 9/2/14)