The Colorado Graduates Initiative (CGI) is a collaboration of partners who seek to make measurable and meaningful progress towards decreasing Colorado’s student dropout rate and increasing Colorado’s high school graduation rate. The Initiative includes several Colorado school districts, direct-service organizations working with at-risk youth, advocacy organizations, researchers, and leaders in philanthropy who recognize the urgent need for action to address this critical issue.
The Initiative was launched by the Donnell-Kay Foundation and is being coordinated by the Colorado Children’s Campaign, working in collaboration with the National Center for School Engagement, Colorado Youth for a Change, school districts, the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University, as well as professional groups providing assistance in communications and other technical needs. Although not a project of Colorado state government, the Initiative is working closely with both the Office of Governor Bill Ritter, Jr. and the Colorado Department of Education.
The Colorado Graduates Initiative is focused on action to improve policies and practices that promote engagement, re-entry and graduation at both the local and state levels. The group also recognizes the need to pursue both short- and long-term activities. Short-term efforts seek to take advantage of efforts already underway at the state and local level that can be strengthened by input from leaders committed to better serving potential dropouts. Long-term efforts require a significant degree of study and analysis with various partners to provide a deeper understanding of the challenges and to thoughtfully develop systemic solutions.
A prominent theme of CGI’s efforts is to support vertical integration of teaching, learning and behavior management efforts by educators from middle through high schools that are targeted at reducing dropouts by improving attendance, reducing suspensions, and preventing course failures. The long-term strategy is premised upon research into adoption of these “early warning” indicators that districts can use to effectively intervene earlier on in a student’s career and reduce the need for traditional dropout recovery programs. Evidence indicates that a critical link exists between future dropouts and negative experiences students have prior to entering 9th grade, and that student absenteeism and course failures numbers at 9th grade and middle school levels may be critical indicators of the need for intervention. The Initiative will target activities for middle grades, as well as high school.
Why was the Colorado Graduates Initiative launched?
Colorado has a recognized problem getting all young people to succeed in high school. State leaders, including Dwight Jones, Commissioner of Education, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Jr., members of the the P-20 Education Coordinating Council and other leaders, have committed themselves to ensuring that more students graduate from high school, that fewer students dropout, and that all young people get an education that prepares them for future success.
Because of this commitment at all levels, Colorado has a unique opportunity to approach this problem differently. Stakeholders are realizing that piecemeal dropout prevention and recovery programs are largely ineffective. This has resulted in a desire for a state effort that empowers and drives schools and communities to develop and implement their own coherent and integrated reform strategies, rather than a hodge-podge of programs to manage. Partnering with districts willing to implement such strategies, combined with increased public and political will to address this problem, creates an opportunity for a bold, agile, resourced, and committed effort to make a real and lasting impact on Colorado’s current and future students.
What is the research basis behind the Colorado Graduates Initiative?
At the heart of the CGI effort is research that provides a policy and practice framework for Colorado schools to use in designing programs to increase their graduation rate. While statistics about who drops out are important for understanding issues of equity and achievement, they have not been as effective in driving interventions to improve outcomes for students. Building upon research conducted in other cities, the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University is analyzing the attendance, behavior, and course failures of eventual dropouts in the years preceding their withdrawal from school. The National Center for School Engagement (NCSE) at the Partnership for Families and Children will also conduct a companion study of over 90 rural Colorado school districts. Both the Hopkins and NCSE research will include a separate analysis of the impact of gender in their respective findings.
The CGI will build upon the research findings by incorporating the wealth of resources compiled by NCSE. NCSE has prepared summaries of the major evidence-based dropout prevention and intervention practices from the major research centers, including Johns Hopkins, The National Dropout Prevention Center (Clemson), and the What Works Clearinghouse and Institute for Education Sciences (federal sources). Ongoing research and resources are available from NCSE in improving attendance, reducing truancy, and current policy initiatives at http://www.truancyprevention.org/.
