Dropout Recovery Discussion Group Organization Profile
Contact Information
Description of Organization
The Arlington Public Schools serves the citizens of Virginia's geographically smallest county, located across the Potomac River from the District of Columbia. It educates one of the Nation's most diverse and sophisticated student populations: the 18,500 students come from over 120 countries and speak more than 100 different languages. APS operates more than 30 schools and programs and serves students with a range of programs designed to meet individual student needs.
Dropout Recovery Related Projects
Most of Arlington’s efforts to confront the “drop out problem” focus on prevention rather than recovery. An inter-departmental steering committee headed by two Assistant Superintendents meets periodically to consider activities that can reduce the drop-out rate, where there is a disproportionate representation of minority students. The committee has recently introduced a system for monitoring closely students who are at risk of dropping out of school and intervening to convince them to remain in school or to re-enroll if they have dropped out.
APS sponsors several programs that assist drop-outs and potential drop-outs. Among them:
High School Continuation Program, which serves over 380 students with an average age of 20 representing 30 different countries, and including a large ESL population; many students have families and work before or after school.
Teenage Parenting Program, which serves as a yearlong educational alternative for young parents, soon-to-be parents, and their families. Pregnant and parenting teenagers, who are eligible for enrollment in the Arlington Public Schools system, have the choice of attending either the Alternatives for Parenting Teens or the Family Education Center. These programs allow young girls to attend classes through base school as they work toward attaining their diplomas. The program also includes a Young Fathers Program and a multi-award-winning Mentoring Adolescent Mothers to Achieve (MAMA) program. Another important program is the Outreach for Parenting Teens program, which reaches out to pregnant and parenting teens not enrolled in school. Assistance is provided to enroll in school, access community services, and acquire parenting and life-management skills through an after-school weekly support session.
Individual Student Alternative Education Program (ISAEP), which gives students between the ages of 16 and 18 an alternative to a comprehensive high school. In ISAEP, students receive training for the General Equivalency Diploma (GED) combined with vocational counseling.
Arlington Education and Employment Program (abbreviated ‘REEP’), which offers English classes at a variety of levels that help prepare adults to use the English language while functioning in their roles as parents, workers, and community members. An explicit goal of the program is to help new immigrants support their children’s education and thus prevent drop-outs. The program serves nearly 500 adults from 40 countries.
Responsive Education is one of four goals in the APS Strategic Plan and focuses on the preparation of each student to succeed in a diverse, changing world through instruction and other school experiences responsive to each student’s talents, interests, and challenges. Among the initiatives are the creation of individual academic plans that are responsive to each student’s talents, interests, and challenges and that build toward post-secondary education, work, and other pursuits. In addition, an objective of the goal is that all APS graduates will be able to apply information and identify their strengths and interests to determine possible career pathways and appreciate the importance of preparation and flexibility for future career choices.
Annual Dropout Reports are submitted to the Virginia Department of Education and are available on the APS Website.
