Recommendations for Increasing Graduation Rates

On the Lower Eastern Shore

October 2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Background ………………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Summary of Recommendations ……………………………………………………………… 3

INTRODUCTION

Graduate Maryland: What & Why ………………………………………...…………….... 4

The Need for a Regional Approach………………………………………...…………….... 4

Lower Shore Graduates: The Process………………………………………...…………….... 5

RECOMMENDATIONS

Improve Funding for Education and Community Programs ..…………………………. 6

Increase Access to Supportive Services …………………………………………………... 7

Establish Safe, Reliable, and Funded Transportation Systems ……………………… 7

Keep Education Connected to the Real World ………………………………….……… 8

Create Opportunities to Engage Parents and Families ………..………………………. 9

CONCLUSION

This project was generously funded by

The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore.

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IMPROVE FUNDING FOR EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS Establish more accessible and sustainable funding streams for community organizations;

ensure that the region’s needs are addressed in the adequacy study of the state’s

education funding formula.

INCREASE ACCESS TO SUPPORTIVE SERVICES Prioritize the expansion of mental health, substance abuse, and wraparound programming;

connect and educate the community to improve access to existing services.

ESTABLISH SAFE, RELIABLE, AND FUNDED TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

KEEP EDUCATION CONNECTED TO THE REAL WORLD Expand opportunities to receive high school credit for work or college experience; increase

out-of-school time and enrichment activities.

CREATE OPPRTUNITIES TO ENGAGE PARENTS & FAMILIES Make school events more accessible to working families; prioritize day care for young

mothers.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BACKGROUND During the 2012 Legislative Session, the Maryland General Assembly passed Senate Bill 362 to

increase the compulsory school age from 16 to 18 years of age. While an important goal, it is

essential to also address the many non-academic factors that may lead to a student

dropping out. To support the implementation of SB 362, Advocates for Children and Youth

created the Graduate Maryland campaign. This statewide initiative brought together

stakeholders from across Maryland to discuss policies, identify best practices, and develop

recommendations for providing students the support they need to successfully reach

graduation.

The Graduate Maryland campaign was successful at galvanizing stakeholders at the state

level. However, Advocates for Children and Youth is committed to improving outcomes for all

of Maryland’s children and recognizes that the needs of students vary widely across the state.

Using the Graduate Maryland model, Advocates for Children and Youth developed the

Lower Shore Graduates project to identify the needs specific to students, schools, and

families living on the Lower Eastern Shore. This report is the culmination of the Lower Shore

Graduates project and includes recommendations rooted in data, research, and

conversations with the community.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

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INTRODUCTION

GRADUATE MARYLAND: WHAT AND WHY

The outcomes for individuals without a high school diploma

are staggering: high school dropouts earn $9,486 less a year

than those with at least a high school degree and over $1

million less over their lifetime than those with a four-year

degree.2 In Maryland alone, the dropouts from the Class of

2011 contributed to an estimated $3 billion in lost earnings

across the state.3 Research also shows that high school

dropouts are two times more likely to lack health care

coverage than their peers with a high school diploma.4

Advocates for Children and Youth’s Graduate Maryland initiative was born out of the need to

help more students successfully graduate high school and move on to viable post-secondary

options. With input from community-based organizations, advocacy groups, and educators from

across the state, Advocates for Children& Youth developed recommendations to increase

graduation rates by better addressing student needs in four key areas: prevention and early

interventions, strong support services, GED preparation, and alternative programs and

approaches.

For a detailed description of the process and recommendations, see Advocates for Children

and Youth’s report titled Graduate Maryland: Recommendations to increase Graduation Rates

available at www.acy.org.

THE NEED FOR A REGIONAL APPROACH

The Lower Eastern Shore has the 4th and 5th highest dropout rates in Maryland, with rates as high

as 14.4% in in Wicomico County and 18.8% in Somerset County. The statewide average is just

over 9.3%.5 While the recommendations developed through the Graduate Maryland initiative

are critical for improving the educational outcomes of students anywhere in the state, it is

important to also take into account the regional differences in financial and community-based

resources that can impact a student’s success.

1 Daily dropout rate calculated by using the number of school days over four years divided by the number of dropouts

over the name period. Number of dropouts comes from the 2013 Maryland Report Card. www.mdreportcard.org. The

data for the Class of 2014 was not available at the time of this report. 2 U.S. Census Bureau. (2011).Median Earning in the Past 12 Months by Sex, By Educational Attainment for Population 25-

years and older, American Community Survey 1-year estimates. Retrieved September 2012. Northeastern University

Center for Labor Market Studies and Alternative schools Network in Chicago. (2009). “Left behind in America: The

nation’s dropout crisis.” Center for Labor Market Studies Publications. Paper 21. http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20000598 3 Alliance for Excellent Education. (2011). “The high cost of high school dropouts: What the nation pays for inadequate

high schools”. 4 U.S. Census Bureau. (2011). Health Insurance Coverage by Age, by Educational Attainment. American Community

Survey 1-year Estimates. Retrieved September 2012. 5 All rates refer to the four-year adjusted cohort rate for the Class of 2013, which is the percentage of students that drop

out anytime between 9th and 12th grade. Maryland State Department of Education. (2013). “Maryland Report Card.”

http://mdreportcard.org.

Throughout the four years of

high school, nearly nine

Maryland students dropped

out each day from the Class

of 2013.

In total, 6,192 students did

not get to walk across the

stage with their peers. 1

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Research has shown that schools and students in more rural regions face specific, location-

related challenges such as limited education funding, declining student populations,

transportation barriers, and staffing shortages.6 We can see the effects of these unique

challenges in the high concentrations of poverty and students on Free and Reduced Meals

(FARMS), high rates of chronic absenteeism, and limited school-based resources in the Lower

Shore region.

LOWER SHORE GRADUATES: THE PROCESS In order to better address the unique needs of students in Wicomico, Worcester, and Somerset

counties, Advocates for Children and Youth developed the Lower Shore Graduates project with

the help of The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore. This project used the Graduate

Maryland framework to engage local school districts and community stakeholders in a

collaborative process of researching existing programs, discussing resource needs, and

developing recommendations to help improve student outcomes in the Lower Eastern Shore.

With the help of our partners, Advocates for Children and Youth facilitated three, county-

specific town hall forums during which over 40 representatives from schools, community-based

programs, government agencies, and philanthropic partners discussed the perceived barriers to

graduation in their county. In order to get as broad of participation in the recommendation

process as possible, Advocates for Children and Youth distilled topics from the town halls into a

follow up survey that was shared among additional community members. The themes from our

conversations and survey findings echoed those of our initial research and laid the foundation

for the recommendations outlined within this report.

PARTNERS

The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore Delmarva Education Foundation Girl

Scouts Association Head Start Horizons at Salisbury School It Takes A Village to Help

Our Children, Inc. Shore Up! Kids of Honor Maryland Choices Salisbury’s Promise

Somerset Co. Library Somerset Co. Local Management Board Somerset Co. Public

Schools University of Maryland –Somerset Extension/4H Wicomico Co. Public Schools

Wicomico Co. Health Department Worcester Co. Local Management Board Worcester

Co. Health Dept. Worcester Co. Public Schools Worcester Youth and Family Counseling

Services

6 Porowski, A. & Howley, C. (2013). “Dropout prevention: Challenges and Opportunities in Rural Settings”. ICF

International.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations lay the framework for ongoing advocacy at both the state and

county level. They cover a broad array of topics and are rooted in research and substantial

input from a variety of stakeholders across the region.

RECOMMENDATION 1: IMPROVE FUNDING FOR EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY

BASED PROGRAMS

Throughout our conversations with the community, stakeholders emphasized that schools and

community-based programs need adequate funding to meet the needs of students and families

in the region. In fact, 83.3% of respondents to the follow-up survey indicated that inadequate

funding for maintaining, expanding, or adding programs was the biggest barrier to providing

students with the services they need. Below are general recommendations for increasing the

funding for schools and community organizations.

Establish more accessible and sustainable funding streams for community-based programs for

youth and families.

A major challenge faced by communities on the Lower Eastern Shore is that funding for

community-based programs fluctuates, often because of the cycles inherent in charitable

giving. As a result, programs struggle with sustaining themselves and serving as viable resources

for students and families. While longer-term support from philanthropic partners can help

increase the sustainability of funding streams and programs, it is also important that state and

federal government funding becomes more accessible to the smaller, community-based

organizations that often make up the service array on the Lower Eastern Shore.

Ensure that the regional needs are represented in Maryland’s study on the adequacy of state

education formula.

Nearly ten years ago, the statewide Thornton School Funding Formula was established to ensure

that each school district had sufficient funding to provide an adequate education for its

students. Over the next several years, the Maryland State Department of Education will be

undergoing a process of reviewing the formula to ensure that it is appropriately wealth-

equalized and responsive to the needs of schools and students in different regions across the

state. This is a momentous opportunity to elevate the unique funding needs of the Lower Eastern

Shore on a state level and ensure that the region receives the state resources necessary for

schools to meet the needs of their students.

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RECOMMENDATION 2: INCREASE ACCESS TO SUPPORTIVE SERVICES

From both a statewide and a regional perspective, strong supportive services are critical for

ensuring that students can succeed in school. In addition to the steps outlined in the Graduate

Maryland report, the following are proactive steps that schools and communities on the Lower

Shore can take to help address the non-academic barriers most salient to their students.

Prioritize additional mental health, substance abuse, and wraparound programming.

If students’ mental health needs are not met, it becomes more challenging to focus and stay on

track academically. Though nearly one-third (32%) of survey respondents agreed that

unaddressed student mental health needs are a significant barrier impacting student success,

there continues to be a shortage of programs in the region. Additionally, existing programs have

limited access because they are largely school-based and/or are primarily on a fee-for-service

basis unless the student has Medicaid. A lack of substance abuse and wraparound

programming also was highlighted through the survey and community conversations, with 23%

and 26% of survey respondents saying that these programs do not exist in their schools or

communities despite the need for them.

Improve access to existing services by educating and connecting the community.

Even in the communities that have existing programs, there are barriers beyond transportation

that limit the ability of students and their families to access them. One way to overcome these

barriers, particularly as they relate to mental health, is to address and overcome any stigmas

associated with accessing mental health services. Additionally, it is also important to educate

both providers and the community at large regarding the supportive services available in the

region; this is especially in counties where services are spread out geographically. One way to

do this is to establish a central database and/or mailing list for all of the services and activities

occurring within the region.

RECOMMENDATION 3: ESTABLISH SAFE, RELIABLE, AND FUNDED TRANSPORTATION

SYSTEMS

Whether it is getting to and from school or accessing community programs, adequate

transportation is one of the most significant barriers on the Lower Eastern Shore that limits a

student’s ability to succeed in school. In fact, 80% of survey respondents cited it as the biggest

barrier to accessing existing services. While each county within the region should have its own

approach that responds to its unique geography and service locations, some creative

approaches to addressing the transportation needs of the region include:

Pooling existing nonprofit resources and requests for transportation within a region;

Establishing a state transportation funding stream for non-academic, enrichment, and/or

out of school time activities;

Employing different strategies to address both “in-town” and “out-of-town”

transportation needs;

And developing partnerships between schools, community organizations, and businesses

to transport students to and from school

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RECOMMENDATION 4: KEEP EDUCATION CONNECTED TO THE REAL WORLD

An effective way to keep young people engaged in their education is by connecting their

learning to viable post-secondary, career and college opportunities.

Expand opportunities for students to receive high school credit for work or college experience.

Forty-three (43%) percent of survey respondents agree that failing to connect school curriculum

and career opportunities will hinder a student’s ability to stay engaged in his or her schooling. To

ensure that students remain motivated to receive their degrees, it is important to create

additional opportunities for them to receive academic credit for work or college experience.

One approach is by establishing a Career Technology Education (CTE) program similar to the

one that exists through Wicomico County Public Schools. This competitive program pairs students

with job sites and allows their work hours to count towards not only high school credits, but a

certification in that career path as well. Unfortunately, many of these programs in Wicomico,

Worcester, and Somerset Counties, have ever-growing waiting lists. Three key suggestions for

increasing access to CTE and/or work-study opportunities include:

1. Increase state and local funding for CTE and work-study slots

2. Continue expanding partnerships between schools and businesses, non-profits, or state

agencies willing to work with students

3. Whenever possible, provide transportation to and from the work site

A second approach to keeping students engaged in high school curriculum is by providing

opportunities for them to enroll in college courses. While some schools have dual-enrollment

programs where students can receive high school and college credit for taking university-level

classes, it is important to both educate the student community about these options and also

increase access by providing transportation to and from the college campus.

Increase out of school time and/or enrichment activities, especially for the middle grades.

When asked what programs keep most students engaged in their education and best address

their needs, 61% of survey respondents credited after school and summer programs. These can

range from clubs and cultural excursions to tutoring and recreation centers. Although 71% of

community members reported that they had existing out of school time activities in their

communities, the need for additional opportunities was consistently raised during our town hall

forums and 36% of survey respondents reported that they were lacking in after school and

summer programming. As we work towards increasing out of school time activities, it is important

to ensure that there are no geographic and/or grade disparities in the programming available.

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RECOMMENDATION 5: CREATE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE PARENTS AND

FAMILIES IN THEIR CHILD’S EDUCATION

Seventy-seven (77) and sixty-six (66) percent of survey respondents cited a lack of parental

engagement and problems at home, respectively, as substantial barriers to a student’s

academic success. The need to support their family – whether that is through childcare or as a

wage earner – was also raised by 37% of survey participants as a significant barrier to

graduation.

Make school events and activities more accessible to working families.

In order to better engage both families and students with families of their own, local schools and

communities can employ the following strategies:

Host school events and activities at parents’ workplaces when possible and appropriate;

And hold school meetings at times when parents are more likely to be off of work

Prioritize daycare for young mothers by providing on-site, school-based child care.

For young mothers with children, daycare is a necessity for continuing their education and

pursuing their careers. However, it is often a challenge to get from home to daycare and then

to school or work efficiently because of the transportation challenges in the region. To help

young mothers persist in their education, it is important to ensure that they can access the

childcare they need so that they can attend class.

While one approach is to provide transportation to and from school, home, and the day care

site, another option is to provide onsite, school-based child care for parenting teens. In addition

to making their childcare – and ultimately their education – more accessible, this approach

would also create the opportunity to expand work-study opportunities for other students in the

community. The onsite, school-based day care center could become a partner with the school

and provide the real world work experience that would help students interested in early

childhood development graduate high school and pursue their careers.

CONCLUSION

Advocates for Children and Youth is committed to advancing the education of students in the

Lower Eastern Shore. In addition to serving as a tool to educate state agencies, elected officials,

and the public regarding the unique needs of the region, this report also lays the foundation for

future advocacy in the coming months and years. Advocates for Children and Youth looks

forward to continuing to work with our partners to identify next steps for acting on and

implementing these recommendations.