Updating a Searchable Database of Dropout Prevention Programs and Policies in Nine Low-Income Urban School Districts in the Northeast and Islands Region. REL Technical Brief. REL 2012-No. 020
Author: Myint-U, Athi
Date: 2012-02-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Dropout Prevention,Dropout Programs,Databases,Maintenance,Classification,Program Evaluation,Program Effectiveness,Urban Schools,School Districts,Program Descriptions,Educational Strategies,Goal Orientation,Participant Characteristics,Central Office Administrators,Staff Utilization,Community Involvement,Financial Support,Clearinghouses,Low Income,Career Education,Labor Force,Readiness,Dropouts,Academic Achievement,School Community Relationship,Cooperation

This technical brief describes updates to a database of dropout prevention programs and policies in 2006/07 created by the Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands and described in the Issues &amp; Answers report, &quot;Piloting a searchable database of dropout prevention programs in nine low-income urban school districts in the Northeast and Islands Region&quot; (Myint-U et al. 2009). To update the database, a key informant from each of the nine pilot districts was interviewed on the status and characteristics of the dropout prevention programs and policies in 2010/11. Based on this new information, this brief classifies programs and policies as new, discontinued, or sustained since 2006/07, the years in which programs were included in the database (Myint-U et al. 2009). The term &quot;active&quot; is used to refer to the combination of new and sustained programs and policies--that is, all programs and policies being implemented in 2010/11. The database now contains information on 151 dropout prevention programs and policies in the nine pilot districts, including 25 new programs and policies added to the database as a result of this update, 22 discontinued programs and policies, and 104 sustained programs and policies that were already in the database. In addition, 58 records on dropout prevention programs and policies being implemented in nine districts in the Mid-Atlantic Region were added to the database in 2010 (Burzichelli, Mackey, and Bausmith 2011). As a result, the database lists 209 dropout prevention programs and policies in the two regions. This brief updates records for the nine Northeast and Islands Region districts only; none of the records from the Mid-Atlantic Region districts has been updated, and thus none of the Mid-Atlantic Region districts is discussed in the analysis. This technical brief reports on key findings related to characteristics of the new, discontinued, and active programs and policies: core strategies (strategies a program uses to reduce dropout, such as mentoring), service goals (interim goals a program or policy targets to reduce dropout, such as improving academic performance), specific target populations, district staff involvement, community involvement, funding sources, and whether the program has been reviewed by the What Works Clearinghouse. Programs and policies can have more than one core strategy, service goal, or specific target population. Among the 25 new programs and policies in the database: (1) Of the 17 core strategies, the one most frequently used by new programs and policies is career education and workforce readiness (17 programs and policies); (2) All 17 core strategies in the database are being implemented by at least one new program or policy; (3) The service goal most frequently targeted by new programs and policies is improving academic performance (21 programs and policies); and (4) The specific populations most frequently targeted by new programs and policies are students with academic needs and students with behavioral needs (7 programs and policies each). Among the 22 discontinued programs and policies in the database: (1) The core strategy most frequently used by discontinued programs and policies was community collaboration (12 programs and policies); and (2) Career Academies, an intervention reviewed by the What Works Clearinghouse and found to have a potentially positive effect on dropout prevention, was discontinued in two districts. Among the 129 active programs and policies in the database: (1) The core strategy most frequently used by active programs and policies is community collaboration (60 programs); (2) The service goal most frequently targeted by active programs and policies is improving academic performance (88 programs); (3) The specific population most frequently targeted by active programs and policies is students with academic needs (44 programs); (4) The district staff most frequently involved in active programs and policies is teachers (82 programs); (5) The type of community involvement most frequently reported by active programs and policies is partnerships with community-based organizations (51 programs); and (6) The funding source most frequently reported by active programs and policies is district-level funding (80 programs). The What Works Clearinghouse has reviewed three active programs and found them to have potentially positive effects on at least one dropout prevention-related domain. Because multiple districts are implementing these interventions, they are found in 13 discrete records in the database: 6 districts are implementing Career Academies, 5 districts are implementing Talent Search, and 2 are implementing Job Corps. Several improvements have been made to the database to increase functionality. Appendix A of the brief contains a revised user guide that reflects these updates. Appended are: (1) User guide for reading and navigating a searchable database of dropout prevention programs and policies; (2) Sample introductory letter; (3) Interviewer instructions; (4) Interviewer template; (5) List of all dropout prevention programs and policies; and (6) Dropout prevention interventions reviewed by the What Works Clearinghouse as of June 29, 2011. (Contains 18 tables, 20 figures and 6 notes.