1/28/2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Governor Earl Ray Tomblin along with Department of Education State Schools Superintendent Ted Mattern, and Higher Education Policy Commission Chancellor Brian Noland today announced a drop-out prevention initiative and legislative proposal.
“I am deeply concerned that too many of our young, bright minds are disconnected from the benefits of a good education,” Gov. Tomblin said. “This Legislative Session, I have proposed a program that will enable schools and communities to come together and develop localized drop-out prevention programs so they can meet the needs of their students and hopefully and make a significant impact on the drop-out rate. My proposal, if passed by the Legislature, will enable these programs to apply for state funding.”
A report prepared by the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, with support from the National Governors’ Association, and issued in November 2010, shows West Virginia students begin to show warning signs of dropping out of school as early as middle school. The most prevalent signs are low attendance, behavior issues, and course failure. Using individual student level data from the 2008-2009 school year, the report looked at sixth and ninth grade students across the state. The report identifies the number of students-in-need, their location by individual school and specific county-by-county data. In addition to the Everyone Graduates Center report, a recommendation report entitled Achieving Graduation for all West Virginians can be found at:
https://www.wvhepc.org/resources/Drop_Out_Prevention_Report.pdf
https://www.wvhepc.org/resources/Drop_Out_Prevention_Report_Appendix_A.pdf
https://www.wvhepc.org/resources/Recommendations_from_NGA_Planning_Grant.pdf
“One dropout is one too many. We have created a holistic approach to dropout prevention that includes the development of an early warning system, expanding credit recovery opportunities and creating earlier access to career and technical programs,” State Superintendent Ted Mattern said. “The governor’s proposal is an extremely important step in our plans to mobilize local community partnerships, such as we have on the state level. It is through partnerships that we will create an environment in our communities where we all own the issue of graduating all students ready for college and/or careers.”
“In order to ensure that students are able to capitalize on the opportunities presented by higher education, we must guarantee that more students receive proper tools and training in secondary education,” Chancellor Noland said. “If drop-out prevention methods are provided and applied, we can open the doors to college access for at-risk students who may forgo their pursuit of a quality education and future opportunities.”
The Governor’s proposal, known as Senate Bill 228 is sponsored by Acting Senate President Jeff Kessler (D- Marshall) and Senate Minority Leader Mike Hall (R- Putnam). The proposal in the House of Delegates, HB 2739, is sponsored by Speaker Rick Thompson (D- Wayne) and House Minority Leader Tim Armstead (R- Kanawha).
Contact Information
Jacqueline Proctor
(304) 558-2000