ResourcesAurora Public Schools’ Alternative Programs Highlighted at Colorado Dropout Prevention Summit
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Program helped 95 percent of at-risk students graduate or advance to the next grade level
ARVADA, Colo. (Oct. 21, 2009) - Aurora Public Schools (APS) Superintendent John Barry told the Colorado Dropout Prevention Summit that innovative partnerships with Ombudsman Educational Services and Colorado Youth for a Change are helping the district’s at-risk students graduate from high school.
Hosted by the Office of Gov. Bill Ritter, the Colorado Department of Education, the Colorado Graduates Initiative and America’s Promise Alliance, the Colorado Dropout Prevention Summit was held Oct. 16 to develop a plan for reaching Gov. Ritter’s goal to cut the state’s dropout rate in half by 2017.
Barry highlighted three successful APS programs during his Summit presentation at Arvada High School. REBOUND is a partnership with APS, Ombudsman, the Community College of Aurora (CCA) and Colorado Youth for a Change (CYC) that helps recover students age 17 and younger who have been expelled or dropped out of school. Futures Academy is a partnership between APS and CYC for students ages 17-20 who have dropped out of school, and the Dropout Intervention Program uses early warning indicators of course failure in high school to create interventions to keep more students on track to graduate.
“Our goal at APS is to graduate every student with the choice to attend college without remediation,” Barry said. “These three programs-REBOUND, the Futures Academy and the Dropout Intervention Program-are part of our mosaic that is helping us achieve that objective. They are also providing an opportunity for hundreds of Aurora youth to accomplish specific academic achievements, as well as providing a path for future academic and career endeavors.”
REBOUND opened its first Aurora center in August 2008, and expanded to a second location this month. REBOUND now serves 180 students during the school year and 50 additional students during the summer. Although 100 percent of REBOUND students are considered at risk of not graduating when they enroll, 95 percent of students served during the 2008-2009 academic year received full credit to advance to the next grade level or graduate.
REBOUND provides students with the opportunity to attend CCA one day a week and earn dual credits toward their post-secondary education. Students receive three hours of academic instruction each day and one hour of behavior intervention, social skills training and life skills management. REBOUND students have greater accountability for their learning and they follow a prescribed learning path created to meet their specific needs. Ombudsman’s accredited program has served nearly 123,000 students since it was founded in 1975, and the partnership with APS is one of Ombudsman’s more than 120 school district partnerships nationwide.
Futures Academy provides educational opportunities for 100 students per year who have dropped out of high school, but have aspirations for post-secondary education. Students attend Futures Academy on the campus of Pickens Technical College, and earn credits toward an Associate’s Degree through CCA. The program places a strong emphasis on basic reading, writing and math skills along with knowledge to succeed in post-secondary endeavors.
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