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HAMMONDSVILLE -- Edison Local Schools are moving forward in its plan to review chronic absenteeism and post-secondary pursuits.
Superintendent Bill Beattie said a panel of district and high school administrators, career readiness and truancy officials recently met to discuss the next level in its initiative through Harvard University which uses the Proving Ground model of evidence-based improvement to address chronic absenteeism, career readiness and college enrollment.
Edison is among 50 rural schools in Ohio and New York that are part of the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks, an initiative of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard, and the study is funded by the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education.
Edison is in its second year of a five-year process and Beattie said the current round is focusing on post-secondary and college and career readiness among the high school set.
"They are looking at tying attendance to academics in the ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th grade years," he said.
"The comparison is what is the traditional setting vs. a career center. We met to discuss what this part of Proving Ground would look like, submitted data and did a root cause analysis. At our next meeting, we'll dig into college and career readiness."
Career Pathways Specialist Leah Eft said absenteeism is definitely a problem and her goal is to help pupils understand the importance of being present.
"We need to get back to the 'If you miss school, you miss out' mentality. I try to tell students that the absenteeism habits they are forming now don't just magically stop once they get a job and get paid. The habits they are forming now, as responsible students, will inevitably transfer into being responsible young professionals," she said. "And, if they do not make this a priority, that's when you will not get hired, when you will lose jobs and when someone else will beat you out in the hiring process."
Her program is implementing different portions of career readiness, and one classroom component allows grades 5-12 students to create Ohio Means Jobs backpacks and conduct career exploration and readiness lessons throughout the school year. She said there is another component in which grades PreK-4 students learn social skills while a third is a local career mentoring component available to grades 9-12 but will eventually include seventh- and eighth-graders.
"Students are offered the opportunity to listen to career mentors in their proposed career field and then they are given an opportunity to ask questions of that mentor," Eft said of the latter component. "There are also individual sessions offered in which juniors and seniors especially get help with their FAFSA, college/career/scholarship applications, career and college planning, and more. There is also a component in which we strive to get more and more local businesses involved in our schools so that our students can be prepared for businesses so that they can be ready to work right out of high school."
She continued that a business advisory council will be enacted to help drive those ideas and conversations. In addition, students are prepared to shadow, apprentice or intern in upper grades if they are interested in those initiatives.
Eft said career exploration events and career fairs will also be on the horizon once she is able, which will allow students to use resumes they will build to do mock interviews and prepare for that vital link after high school. The career pathways program has been implemented at EHS for nearly two years and Eft has prior experience discussing career paths with students as Edison's guidance counselor. She has worked with grades 5-12 this year and plans to have more presence in the elementary schools during the fourth nine weeks.
"The Career Pathways Program strives to give students a purpose and a reason to show up every day. I believe that once students commit to a purpose in life, that other things start to fall in place and start to make more sense. And when we can get students focusing on their futures during the school day every day, then things will really start to make sense for them. During the career mentoring processes, we also strive to connect student learning to what these professionals do on a daily basis so they can see connections to their classroom learning."
She credited the district with taking the initiative to reduce absenteeism and help students achieve success now and in the future.
"The fact that the school district is placing a focus and value on students' futures in an intentional way, and in more ways than one, is what it truly means to care about students' futures. It is so true that 'It takes a village to raise a child,' and I believe this is one vital part of that village we are trying to raise up around our students."
The district is looking to improve attendance with the addition of truancy officer Anthony Pierro, and Beattie said having Pierro on board will also make an impact in the long run.
Meanwhile, officials should learn this spring what interventions Harvard researchers will compile using the submitted information to help boost attendance.
"Proving Ground will make a decision on what interventions they will want school districts to use to move forward and help students make better grades," Beattie commented.
Students have been getting some incentives along the way with support from the Cleveland Browns Foundation. The foundation has used it's "Stay in School, Get in the Game" back-to-school campaign to provide kids with rewards for going to class and making good grades. So far, they have attended Orange and Brown scrimmage games, received tickets to regular NFL matchups and earned Cleveland Browns toboggans to keep warm this winter. The latter extended into grades K-12 as a way to celebrate perfect attendance and making the honor roll.
Assistant Superintendent Julie Kireta, who is on the district panel, said the goal is to ensure students achieve success in life and help them discover their path whether it is in college, the military or in the workforce.
"We are working to achieve student success and (helping them learn) what they will do when they graduate."