Model Program

The Pascagoula School District's DESTINATION GRADUATION! program is part of the district's five-year strategic plan to raise high school graduation rates to 100 percent. The district has an extensive community awareness campaign that includes commercial, billboards, yard signs, bumper stickers, buttons, business cards to get the word out to the community about the importance of partnering with the district to see that every child is successful. Extensive tutoring, AIMS web probing, behavior specialists, intervention specialists all work together for the success of every student. The district works with all teen mothers to ensure their proper nutrition, attendance in school and ultimate graduation, began a Backpack Buddy program to ensure all students (and their families) were not going hungry at night and on the weekends and an Early Beginnings Toy Resource Library to make sure all children (from birth) are meeting milestones and have all the tools necessary to begin kindergarten. With the fastest growing English Language Learner population in Mississippi, the district has employed more teachers and purchased resources to ensure these students can overcome the language barrier. The Gear Up program monitors every eighth grade student all the way through high school graduation. Partnership with America's Promise targets those students most at risk in the district with extra tutoring and programs to encourage them to stay in school. After-school tutoring is offered at ALL schools for those students who need extra help. District has created a Family Interactive Center, a place where parents and children can come to learn and play together through the partnership of business, industry and organizations. Families can learn about the wetlands, visit the planetarium the science and enigneering lab, broadcast journalism lab, block room, and recording studio or visit the Institute of Technology where they can fly 30 different aircraft through a flight simulator, look up research in three computer labs or play the Wii gaming system in bowling, boxing and golf, sports our students may not have experienced.

Program Descriptors Include:
Academic Improvement, Adult Education, Alternative Education, Attendance/Truancy, Behavior Management/Discipline, Bi-lingual/ESL, Bullying/Violence, Career Education, Community Collaboration, Computer Assisted Instruction, Counseling/Advisories/Coaches, Credit Recovery, Early Childhood Education, Extended-School/Summer Program, Extra Curricular, Family/Parental Involvement, GED, Homeless, Literacy Development, Mentoring/Tutoring, Middle/Early College, Professional Development, Service Learning, Students with Disabilities, Study Skills, Substance Abuse, Teen Pregnancy, Virtual Learning, Life Skills Training

Strategies for Locating Students:
Unspecified

Starting Date: 2007
Students Served Per Year: 500+
Reenrolled Students with Disabilities: N/A
Last Verified: 2009

Program addresses the following:

Individual factors

• Has a learning disability or emotional disturbance
• High number of work hours
• Parenthood
• High-risk peer group
• High-risk social behavior
• Highly socially active outside of school
• Low achievement
• Retention/overage for grade
• Poor attendance
• Low educational expectations
• Lack of effort
• Low commitment to school
• No extracurricular participation
• Misbehavior
• Early aggression

Family factors

• Low socioeconomic status
• High family mobility
• Large number of siblings
• Not living with both natural parents
• Family disruption
• Low educational expectations
• Sibling(s) has dropped out
• Low contact with school

School factors

• Limited resources: expenditures per student/ teacher salaries/ student-teacher ratios
• School math achievement
• School policies and practices
• Student engagement
• Teacher expectations

Community factors

• Family composition/socioeconomic status
• Local labor market/neighborhood stability
• Youth social attitudes

Program promotes the following:

Relationships

• Presence and involvement of caring, supportive adults
• Opportunities and rewards for pro-social involvement
• Clear social norms
• Good relationships with parents, peers, and teachers
• Involvement with positive peer activities
• Perception of support from adults and peers

Independence

• Healthy/conventional beliefs and standards
• Positive/resilient temperament

Competence

• Social competencies
• Self efficacy

Creativity

• Problem-solving skills
• Flexibility

Optimism

• High expectations by community, family, school, and self
• Optimistic

High graduation rate is up 6 points in one year. EVERY pregnant senior in the district, 27, graduated from high school this past year. Test scores are up in middle school (targeted area this past year), 95 percent pass rate on state subject area tests in biology, algebra I and U.S. history, mandatory passage from State Department in order to graduate from high school.

How evaluation data was collected:
Data collected and analyzed at school/district level
Data collected and analyzed at state or organizational level