Chicago schools drop in on dropout problem

Just a year and a half ago, Justin Johnson was a high school dropout.

"I just didn't really feel like doing the work," he said. "School was boring."

Behind in his requirements and uninterested in his coursework, Justin dropped out of George Washington High School in the middle of his sophomore year.

But just two weeks after dropping out, the South Side native found himself sitting at home with nothing to do, and resumed classes at Pathways in Education. Easily mistaken for a store, Pathways is an independently-run alternative school located in a strip mall in Chicago's Wrightwood neighborhood.

Johnson is just one of thousands of students participating in Chicago Public School programs that are bringing students back to the classroom, and helping curb the city's dropout rate. Since 1999, Chicago Public Schools' five-year cohort dropout rate has decreased from 50.1 percent to 41.6 percent in 2007 - an improvement of almost 17 percent.

Among the top three public school systems in the nation, Chicago's one-year dropout rate statistically ranks last. Despite this, Chicago's 2007 one-year dropout rate is 10 percent - a vast improvement from its 1999 figure of 13.8 percent.

The largest public school system in the nation, New York City Public Schools, reported a one-year 6.6 percent dropout rate for the 2004-05 school year - the latest information available. The nation's second largest educational district, Los Angeles Unified, reported a 5 percent dropout rate for 2005-06.

A program that originated in California about 20 years ago, the Pathways in Education model was brought to Chicago in 2007, and provides flexibility for students whose life situations conflict with conventional high school programs.

"They realized years ago that they weren't able to really capture all of the students in the traditional high school setting, and that there were some students who needed a different mode of instruction in order to be successful," said Patricia Jackson, principal of Pathways in Education.

At Pathways, students attend school three days a week for three hours, and complete an online component outside of the classroom another two days a week for three hours. Although the minimum requirement is 15 hours, Jackson says the school is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and students are welcome to stay as long as they like.

"The young people who are on the graduation list - the seniors this year - they practically live here," Jackson said.

For Justin Johnson, who now expects to graduate by December, the schedule works out well as he splits time between two jobs to help his mother. The schedule has also enabled other students to manage their lives outside of the classroom effectively.

An 18-year-old West Englewood resident, Patrice Turner, dropped out of Hyde Park Career Academy as a sophomore in spring of 2006.

"I was just caught up in teenage life," Turner said. "I didn't want to do no work. I was being lazy."

Now a proud parent of her 1-year-old daughter Jayla, Turner expects to fulfill her graduation requirements by December. The schedule has allowed her to care for her child and work while taking classes toward her diploma.

"I realized I was carrying a person in me, and I didn't want my child to follow in my footsteps and drop out," Turner said. "I want to inspire my daughter to the positive side - don't drop out of school, don't drop out like I did. That's why I'm at Pathways. I want to turn my life around."

The curriculum for students is also unique as students don't have marking periods. Students generally take two to three courses, and work on curriculum packets with their instructors. A course will have a certain number of these packets, and students must complete them with a grade of C or better to pass.

This allows students who have to leave the program for extended periods of time to come back and pick up where they left off.

"We don't drop out students," Jackson said. "We have some young people who, for a sundry of reasons - got picked up on probation, go picked up on something else - had to spend some time away. They're allowed to reenter here. And because of how we set up the packets, they don't have to start taking that class over from scratch."

In addition to fulfilling Chicago Public School curriculum requirements, instructors prepare students for the ACT, assist them with their resume, and prepare them for college life. Of this year's 22 graduates at Pathways, seven are headed to junior colleges, one will attend a trade school and two will enroll in four-year institutions, according to Jackson.

At the conclusion of the program, students receive their diploma from the high school they originally dropped out from.

The year-round program's unique curriculum has apparently worked for its students. In its first year, Pathways boasts a graduation rate of 82 percent, and has a dropout rate of 19.3 percent, according to Chicago school officials. The district has a graduation rate of 55.1 percent.

After finishing her high school requirements this December, Turner hopes to attend a junior college before enrolling at a university to earn her bachelor's degree. Johnson is currently looking at programs at DeVry and Northwestern Universities, as well as Columbia and Robert Morris Colleges.

In addition to bringing dropouts back to the school system, Chicago Public Schools are also keeping students in school with early prevention programs, like Chicago's Achievement Academies.

A collaborative effort between Chicago Public Schools and John Hopkins University, an achievement academy is a two-year program for students who turned 15, but didn't reach graduation requirements for eighth grade. Introduced to the school system five years ago, there are eight academies citywide with a total enrollment of almost 2,000 youth.

"We really try to engage our students and mentor our students and be examples for our students to keep them involved and let them know that somebody cares for them," said Christopher Robbins, assistant principal and achievement academy leader at Crane Technical Prep school on Chicago's Near West Side.

Robbins is currently finishing his first year running the program at Crane - the biggest in the city with an estimated 335 students. Upon entering the academy, students complete their eighth grade requirements while earning high school credits. Class sizes are smaller, giving students more face time with their teachers.

"If you need help, they can explain stuff more and break it down to where you understand because there aren't as many kids in the classroom," said Lee Giles, a 15-year-old student at Crane's Achievement Academy.

Like his peers in the program, Giles was behind in his requirements and over-age entering high school. Now at the end of his freshman year, Giles ranks second in his program, and anticipates graduating on time in 2011.

The achievement academies were originally separate schools located throughout the city, but they have since been transitioned to high schools, where students can participate in extracurricular activities and athletics with their peers. Students attend classes as a group in block scheduling; they take the same courses with the same teachers.

"The very structures of the program is designed to be close-knit, and [teachers] really get to know the kids," Robbins said.

Students who enter the academies have fairly high dropout rates (49 percent) after three years of high school, however their peers who enter high school overage without attending an academy have an 88 percent dropout rate according to Chicago Public Schools. The results of the program have not gone unnoticed by its students.

"I know a lot of students that are here - in sixth, seventh grade they weren't coming to school," said Crianna Thomas, a 16-year-old sophomore at the Crane academy. "Now they're here every day, doing their work, getting Bs, Cs and sometimes even As if they put their mind to it."

Thomas currently ranks first in her program and will resume regular school curriculum in the fall, and expects to graduate on time in 2010.

Programs like the achievement academies and alternative schools are just two programs Chicago Public Schools have implemented to curb the dropout rate.

New programs like Freshman Connection, which is set to launch this summer, are among a host of programs helping students make the transition from eighth grade to high school, and keep them coming. The district has also offered credit recovery, allowing students to earn credit for classes they have missed or failed.

Despite the host of initiatives by the district, Pathways student Justin Johnson thinks that successes will only be gauged by the student's attitude.

"It's all in how your mindset is," Johnson said. "If you go in thinking about all the stuff that's wrong in your life, you're not going to be able to focus on the stuff that you need to do to fix what's wrong with your life. It's like an endless circle.

"Other people go in with the determination to beat their problems and ultimately end the struggle that they have been going through. That's something I'm trying to do."