Safety Nets: Improving Graduation Rate and Cohort, and a Means of Keeping Students on Grade Level

Marshall M. Stewart, Ed.S.

         Two chronic challenges that plague almost any public high school are graduation rate/cohort and keeping students on grade level. The conditions that favor these unhealthy realities range from poverty to drug/alcohol use to lack of parental involvement to lack of personal motivation. In addressing these two areas, I have utilized two initiatives—coupled with a shortened summer school—to improve graduation and cohort rate, and to help keep students on grade level by recovering credits during the school day and year. These are what I refer to as our “Safety Nets,” and no school or district should be without them.

         First, I developed a winter school program that targets seniors and juniors. Winter school takes place during the first three weeks of the second semester, meeting after school from 3-4:15 pm in the technology lab. Students use APEX online to work through North Carolina standard course of study objectives for the subject area they seek to recover. Juniors and seniors who failed courses with averages of 45-59 are eligible, as well as students who received an FF due to attendance issues. The lab is staffed by teachers who receive hourly pay via remediation funds. Teachers from math, English, social studies, and science facilitate the courses each day. APEX online moves students through each online module as they demonstrate objective mastery. Each module is built from the NC course of study for that area, so standards and objectives are identical to what each would see in a face-to-face classroom. Additionally, students who demonstrate high time on task—and request so—can have additional units “opened” for them to work on at home from their personal computer. Students who complete the entire course successfully (demonstrating 70% mastery) receive credit for the failed course.  The winter school program has proven successful at keeping students on track to graduate and removing the fear of being stigmatized by a course failure. Winter school, coupled with the similar summer school program (which runs from the end of school to the last work day in June) doubles a student’s opportunity to get back on track to graduate on time.

         Secondly, the Covid-19 Pandemic had a most negative effect on student attendance and performance. With so many students failing classes, and many falling off grade level, I needed a means by which to help all students stay on grade level and recovery credits, hence “Success 101.” Success 101 is a course I developed that takes place during the school day, fall and spring semesters. Again, the platform is APEX online and students work individually on computers to recover course credits due to failing average of 45-59 or due to attendance (FF). I placed Success 101 first period each day in order to reach the most students. Due to off campus classes at community colleges, trade/technology schools off site, or job demands, first period was the best fit when building schedules. Students could not only recover credits from failed courses, but each student also received a credit for taking Success 101. Again, the opportunity to catch up was made readily available, and many students took advantage of it. It was so successful in the Spring of 21 that nearly 200 course credits were recovered by students. This drastically improved our off grade-level numbers, cutting it nearly 75%. It resulted in eleven seniors capturing credits to graduate on time, with only three enrolled seniors failing to complete their courses by June 30th. It is common for dedicated students to recover two or three credits in addition to the class credit for completing Success 101, and they and their parents have expressed their gratitude for the program and what it offered in helping success be an accomplishable goal.

         In short, while there are many other opportunities out there to catch students up and help them graduate on time, winter school and Success 101 are two accomplishments very close to my heart. Coupled with our summer school (also Apex-based with some face-to-face), we have a powerful safety net that bridges the gap and keeps students off grade level and graduation co-hort. Not all students achieve success at the same rate or the same level, but each of these programs offer a little more individualized learning opportunities that may make the difference between passing and failing, graduating or dropping out.  Marshall M. Stewart, 2021