The two programs selected are the Newton Public Schools New Teachers Induction and Mentoring Program and the Lee County Schools Dropout Prevention Plan. The mission of the New Teachers Induction and Mentoring Program is to ensure there is an improvement in teaching and hence student learning through the provision of support, encouragement, as well as guidance to those teachers who are new to their positions in the district ( Newton Public Schools, 2018) . The focus of the program is to provide teachers with opportunities for professional growth in an environment that is collegial and non-judgmental. The program's goals include providing confidential support for the teachers, to instill the values of excellence, innovation, respect, and responsibility to the new teachers, and provide teachers with an opportunity for professional development through peer coaching and self-reflection.
The program also focuses on retaining skilled and committed teachers in the district. It is also the aim of the program to provide support and retain educators of color. The induction program is assisting minority teachers in developing confidence that will enable them to implement their roles in the district. What is clear is that the district needs to retain the skilled teachers if the level of education is to remain high within the district. The dropout prevention program helps by providing those students at risk with support including mentoring, counseling, and social-emotional skills training. The program is multi-service and includes attendance monitoring and sometimes with financial rewards. The program aims to increase high school graduation and to reduce absenteeism.
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Lee County Schools Dropout Prevention Plan
The program selected for evaluability assessment is the Lee County Dropout Prevention Plan. It seeks to ensure that every student in the county can become a productive citizen by completing high school education ( Lee County, 2018) . The program is aimed at ensuring that the number of those passing high school exit education increase in the county. Each school in the district is supposed to come up with measures to reduce the rate of dropouts in the area.
The committee assigned the program keeps track of the graduation rates, completion rates, and dropout rates. Administrators, teachers, students, community members, and parents are involved in the design and implementation of the initiatives agreed upon by the group. Each school is required to track its progress and report the same to the district-wide committee helping in the implementation of the program. The program has outlined three main initiatives to implement. These are the parental involvement, checking why the students performed poorly, and continue focusing on reading especially in the elementary schools. The district identified some steps that were to be followed in order to increase the graduation rates and reduce the dropout rate.
The district agreed that there would be annual meetings for parents to ensure they are informed of the assessment data, the accountability ratings, and those indicators that are lagging behind. All the schools in the district do this as parents are advised about at-risk factors that lead to the students dropping out of school. The program requires every school in the district to have a dropout prevention task force. The task force is to be made up of teacher’s counselors, and administrators. The task force is to make use of data collected on student absences, behavior, and grade retention. This data is to be used in classifying a student as at-risk of dropping out of school. The task force is to come up with a plan used for counseling, mentoring, and tracking the students and their parents to ensure there is progress.
The Reason for the Selection
My selection of the dropout reduction program relates to my interest in helping students become better citizens in the changing American society. My area of interest is in the reduction of crimes in communities, and one of the ways of reducing this is by ensuring that more students get their high school diplomas for them to become productive members of the society. The program is also designed in a way that each member or school is aware of what they have to do for them to succeed in the district goal of increasing the number of students graduating from high school ( Wilkins & Bost, 2016) . Christianity as a religion is based on helping others and making sure that they reach their full potential in society. Helping students reach their goals and reduce the crime rates in the area is in line with my Christian teachings.
One of the importance of such a program is the minimization of disparities in society especially when it comes to income. Minority groups, who make up the highest number of dropouts in the society, will have a way of bridging the income inequality through the increase in graduation rates. Based on research, it is clear that the dropout prevention programs help in producing economic benefits to the government and society ( Smink, & Reimer, 2017) . The program has been designed in a way that helps schools avoid overburdening their staff by ensuring there are community partners who help by mentoring and career exploration opportunities ( Dooley, 2016) . The selection of the program is also based on the notion that the program promotes early intervention and addresses multiple risk factors to reach the desired goals.
References
Dooley, T. P. (2016). To address generational poverty, dropout prevention programs must serve those most in need. USApp–American Politics and Policy Blog .
Lee County. (2018). Home - Lee County Schools. Retrieved from http://www.leeschools.net
Newton Public Schools. (2018). New Teachers Induction & Mentoring / Mentor Training Program . Retrieved from https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/Page/164
Smink, J., & Reimer, M. (2017). Rural School Dropout Issues: Implications for Dropout Prevention. Strategies and Programs. National Dropout Prevention Center/Network .
Wilkins, J., & Bost, L. W. (2016). Dropout prevention in middle and high schools: from research to practice. Intervention in School and Clinic , 51 (5), 267-275.
