Project Graduation: A Call to Action

A failure to meet districtwide AYP in improved graduation rate provided the impetus for the launch of Project Graduation, a targeted effort to improve the graduation rate and to ensure that all students have every opportunity necessary to complete high school requirements and maintain the necessary credits toward graduation each year of high school. An added challenge is that the Class of 2008 is the first class required to earn 22 credits, an increase from the 20 required of previous cohorts.

Phase I of Project Graduation examined the “brutal facts.” While 1,036 students entered high school in the Sunnyside District in 2004 -2005, only 556 were on track and expected to graduate four years later, in 2008. An additional 203 remain in our system, but have not yet earned the required credits to be classified as seniors.

Phase II began the implementation of credit recovery options for our seniors, and for juniors as space allowed. Sunnyside and Desert View high schools completed their own needs assessments and selected six courses to be taught after regular school hours or on Saturday. Additional funding was provided to STAR Academic Center to increase the number of Sunnyside and Desert View students concurrently enrolled there for credit recovery. The district also increased opportunities for completing classes online.

Phase III: Freshman Intervention
Discussions with administrators, high school staffs, students, and parents made it increasingly clear that the problem of low graduation rates begins in the freshman
year, and possibly earlier. These key groups identified four themes that significantly impact the graduation rate:

• Attendance: The faculties at both high schools were emphatic about the need to address excessive absences. Supporting data indicate a significant need to develop a comprehensive attendance improvement plan.
• Excessive failure rate of this year’s freshmen, particularly in algebra; the rate at which freshmen advance to sophomore status; and the need for greater intervention in the freshman year.
• Literacy skills: Discussion with the school improvement teams indicated a strong belief that part of the reason for the high failure rate was due to the high number of students who are reading significantly below grade level.
• Lack of parent engagement: A need to have parents involved in the decision-making and support of our students was mentioned by high school faculties, District Parent Council, and Learning Community Leaders.

The Freshman Intervention Plan addressed five areas:

1.  A study skills class was implemented in January 2008 to serve 125 of the at-risk freshmen at each site. This required adding a teacher at each campus, and implementing a curriculum based on the AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination) Strategies for Success model and including AIMS interventions.
2. A reading/literacy class was implemented for 100 freshmen who are significantly below grade level in reading. This required adding a teacher at each campus.
3. Freshman Attendance Intervention Plan – Recognizing that the freshman year is crucial to shaping the rest of a student’s high school career, the Intervention Plan focused on improving the attendance of the Class of 2011. (Please see Attendance Initiative)
4. Parent engagement - High schools held mandatory intervention meetings for all parents whose children are in jeopardy of being retained in the ninth grade. In addition, follow-up visits and individual conferences were scheduled.
5. AIMS Readiness - As freshman transition is reviewed and suggestions made for a strategic freshman experience, AIMS readiness will be a major focus. While AIMS testing will not occur until the sophomore year, activities throughout the freshman year will focus on AIMS preparation to increase the number of students who meet or exceed the standards on the first attempt.

The efforts to support freshman students will be maintained as they move to their sophomore year. Even with all the efforts of the Freshman Intervention Plan, it is clear that our high schools are in need of major transformation to better serve our students and community.