Bringing Alternative Ideas to Traditional Schools: Re-engaging Students Who Have Fallen Behind

Format

Individual Presentation

Presenters

Laura B. Buckelew, Duluth High School, GCPSFollow

First Presenter's Institution

Duluth High School/ Gwinnett County Public Schools

First Presenter’s Email Address

brook.buckelew@gcpsk12.org

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Brook Buckelew is a teacher at Duluth High School in Gwinnett County. She currently teaches AP Precalculus and works as an intervention specialist. Brook holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Mercer University, an Ed.S. in Administration and Policy from the University of Georgia, an Ed.S. in Teaching and Learning from Piedmont College, a M.Ed. in Mathematics Education from the University of Georgia, and BBA in Finance from Mercer University. Her research focus is alternative schools and programs for secondary students.

Location

Session Three

Strand #1

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Strand #2

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Relevance

Youth who demonstrate struggles with effective or executive functioning skills are often academically marginalized with labels such as “lazy” or “unmotivated.” Students who do not complete assignments or fail multiple courses in high school do not get the individualized attention they so badly need. An intervention program explicitly targeting students who do not complete daily assignments can catch students before those missing assignments add up to missed content and failing grades. This type of intervention promotes learning for all students and provides the necessary accommodations and resources they cannot get in a traditional classroom.

The intervention program promotes student agency concerning work completion and credit recovery. The intervention facilitator fosters positive social and emotional skills in a classroom climate steeped in engagement and relevance in a non-evaluative environment. Students are encouraged to set achievable goals and persevere until objectives are met. Students find success in attaining small goals that lead to more significant achievements. Students can return to their regular classroom with more confidence and the belief that they can direct their learning.

Brief Program Description

A presentation designed for local school administrators, counselors, and teachers focusing on secondary students who have found themselves behind in coursework and or school credits. Session participants will be introduced to an intervention program implemented in a traditional suburban high school with proven success for students who need targeted interventions and support. Using a coordinated tracking system, students are closely monitored by a classroom teacher in an alternative program operating during the school day.

Summary

In 2015, Duluth High School’s 9th-grade academy created a daily intervention for academically marginalized students to complete missing or incomplete assignments to reduce the less effective consequences of grade reduction or punitive punishments. The program was so successful that teachers requested it be expanded to the upper grades. Teachers and administrators at Duluth collectively decided that a student’s “consequence for not doing work was doing the work.”

In a systematic way, teachers report students with incomplete work to administrators, and those students are assigned the intervention room during a 52-minute period, which coincides with the student’s homeroom/lunch period. Lunch orders are taken, and the school’s cafeteria staff create and deliver sack lunches to the room. Students are expected to work throughout the period to complete the missing assignments. Students attend the intervention room Monday through Thursday or until the work is complete.

In 2022, the intervention was expanded to include students who needed to catch up in Carnegie credits required for high school graduation. Using a mastery-based system, on a modular-online platform, students work in the same manner, but on a specific course. To qualify for the credit recovery course, students must have first failed the course in a traditional classroom setting. They are then placed in the classroom the same way those completing work are assigned, and they are expected to work through their homeroom/lunch period.

The facilitating teacher manages attendance and individualized assignments for each student. The daily roster for each period can range from ten students to as many as 30 students. Working closely with a designated school administrative assistant, the facilitating teacher reports the lunch order, absent students, and completed assignments. The facilitating teacher meets with students on a regular basis and can build strong relationships in a non-evaluative way. The facilitating teacher is expected to reach out to parents weekly and report any necessary information to school counselors and administrators.

This intervention method has shown excellent results for students who may have otherwise been given punitive consequences for not doing work. Students who are in danger of not graduating are earning credits at a record pace. By strategically and purposefully making this intervention a part of a student’s daily schedule, there has been a demonstrated increase in work completion and high school credits earned.

Evidence

Research has shown that identifying predictable behaviors leading to academic dis-engagement (McMahon & Sembiante, 2020) or recognizing that dropping out of school is a process rather than an event (Christenson & Thurlow, 2004; Rumberger, 2011; Tyler & Lofstrom, 2009), provides an opportunity to create purposeful and strategic traditional school interventions and alternatives rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Bowers and Sprott (2012) discovered that academic predictors should not be viewed in isolation but rather as the connectedness of multiple factors when students exhibit problematic behaviors. For example, social factors can refer to the student’s interactions with school personnel, teachers, and peers when problems arise (Flores & Brown, 2019; Tyler & Loftstrom, 2009).

To tackle the persistent academic issues with academically marginalized students, traditional secondary high schools are implementing academic interventions (Vera et al., 2016), social-emotional strategies (Thayer et al., 2018), and alternative disciplinary initiatives (Teske, 2011). Alternative programs are often viewed as a last-ditch effort or a final attempt to provide a practical educational experience to those students who do not respond positively in a traditional academic setting (Knutson, 1995; Raywid, 1994). Often placing students in an alternative program or school results from exhausting all disciplinary consequences in the traditional school’s plan of action. This placement is perceived as a negative consequence of the student’s inappropriate behavior rather than being viewed as the best placement for the student (Bickerstaff, 2010). Society believes that anything different from the traditional education system is inferior to the original. Changing the narrative to present alternative programs as a positive pathway rather than a negative consequence, can lead to better outcomes for students and the community (Bickerstaff, 2010).

Internal school departments often focus on narrow components of the problem, neglecting to target the wide range of causes of student disengagement (McMahon & Sembiante, 2020). School resources, including human resources, time, and money, focus on and emphasize the habitual discipline-prone students with discipline alternatives (Gage et al., 2013). These alternatives have been suggested instead of in- and out-of-school suspensions, which can include counseling and positive behavior interventions (Welsh & Little, 2018). Still, there are times when even the in-school alternatives do not deter incidents of disciplinary infractions (Elrod et al., 2022). The last sixty years of research have shown a need for alternative programs and alternative interventions for students struggling with traditional schools (Sullivan & Downey, 2015).

References

Bickerstaff, S. (2010). “I felt untraditional”: High school leavers negotiating dominant discourses on “dropout.” Journal of Education, 190(3), 37–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/002205741019000305

Bowers, A. J., & Sprott, R. (2012). Examining the multiple trajectories associated with dropping out of high school: A growth mixture model analysis. Journal of Educational Research, 105(3), 176–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2011.552075

Christenson, S. L., & Thurlow, M. L. (2004). School dropouts: Prevention considerations, interventions, and challenges. Current Directions in Psychological Science: A Journal of the American Psychological Society, 13(1), 36–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.01301010.x

Elrod, B. G., Rice, K. G., & Meyers, J. (2021). PBIS fidelity, school climate, and student discipline: A longitudinal study of secondary schools. Psychology in the Schools. 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22614

Flores, M. E., & Brown, C. G. (2019). An examination of student disengagement and reengagement from an alternative high school. School Leadership Review, 14(1).

https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/slr/vol14/iss1/5

Gage, N. A., Sugai, G., Lunde, K., & DeLoreto, L. (2013). Truancy and zero tolerance in high school: Does policy align with practice? Education and Treatment of Children, 36(2), 117–138. https://doi.org/10.1353/etc.2013.0011

Knutson, G. G. (1995). Alternative high schools: Models for the future? The High School Journal, 79(2), 119–124. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40364768

McMahon, B. M. & Sembiante, S. F. (2020). Re‐envisioning the purpose of early warning systems: Shifting the mindset from student identification to meaningful prediction and intervention. Review of Education, 8(1), 266–301. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3183

Raywid, M. A. (1994). Alternative schools - The state-of-the-art. Educational Leadership, 52(1), 26–31.

Rumberger, R. W. (2011). Dropping out why students drop out of high school and what can be done about it. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674063167

Sullivan, S. C. & Downey, J. A. (2015). Shifting educational paradigms: From traditional to competency-based education for diverse learners. American Secondary Education, 43(3), 4–19. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43694215

Teske. S. C. (2011). A study of zero tolerance policies in schools: A multi-integrated systems approach to improve outcomes for adolescents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 24(2), 88–97. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6171.2011.00273.x

Thayer, A. J., Cook, C. R., Fiat, A. E., Bartlett-Chase, M. N., & Kember, J. M. (2018). Wise feedback as a timely intervention for at-risk students transitioning into high school. School Psychology Review, 47(3), 275–290. https://doi.org/10.17105/spr-2017-0021.v47-3

Tyler, J. H., & Lofstrom, M. (2009). Finishing high school: Alternative pathways and dropout recovery. The Future of Children, 19(1), 77–103. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.0.0019

Vera, E., Shriberg, D., Alves, A., Montes de Oca, J., Reker, K., Roche, M., Salgado, M., Stegmaier, J., Viellieu, L., Karahalios, V., Knoll, M., Adams, K., Diaz, Y., & Rau, E. (2016). Evaluating the impact of a summer dropout prevention program for incoming freshmen attending an under-resourced high school. Preventing School Failure, 60(2), 161–171. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2015.1063039

Welsh, W. & Little, S. (2018). The school discipline dilemma: A comprehensive review of disparities and alternative approaches. Review of Educational Research, 88(5), 752–794. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654318791582

Learning Objective 1

Participants will be able to identify students who can benefit from a targeted intervention program to complete missing assignments or catch up on high school credits.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to follow or modify the presented intervention program to meet the needs of their students.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to use methods for supporting and assisting students as they become change agents for their high school trajectory.

Keyword Descriptors

Intervention, Credit Recovery, Student Agency, Secondary Education, Alternative Education, Student Engagement, Academically Marginalized

Presentation Year

2024

Start Date

3-4-2024 2:15 PM

End Date

3-4-2024 2:45 PM

Recommended Citation

Buckelew, Laura B., "Bringing Alternative Ideas to Traditional Schools: Re-engaging Students Who Have Fallen Behind" (2024). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 21.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2024/2024/21