Ill. Board of Education Chair Ruiz, State Senator Lightford & State Representative

State and local officials addressed statewide solutions to ending Illinois’s high school dropout crisis at a luncheon symposium hosted today by the Chicago Urban League (CUL), Illinois State Council on Re-Enrolling Students Who Dropped Out of School (Council), and Alternative Schools Network (ASN). Chairman of the Council and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), Jesse Ruiz, presented Council recommendations and the impact of Illinois and Chicago’s recently passed breakthrough legislation, Senate Bills 1796 and 612, and the opportunities afforded to end the state’s high school dropout crisis.

Moderated by Linda Lenz, founder and publisher of Catalyst Chicago, a panel discussion featured: Herman Brewer, Acting President & CEO, Chicago Urban League; Ron Huberman, CEO, Chicago Public Schools (CPS); Illinois State Senator Kimberly Lightford, (D, 4th District); Illinois State Representative Jerry Mitchell (R, 90th District); Darren Reisberg, General Counsel, Illinois State Board of Education Jesse Ruiz.

The agenda featured presentations of IHOPE Champion Awards 2009 to honor leaders who are at the forefront of finding systemic solutions for re-enrolling Illinois students who had dropped out of school.

FOCUS ON RE-ENROLLMENT

Dropouts in Illinois have increased by 12% in just two years from 2006 to 2008. This statistic is mirrored nationally by the 6.2 million youth (16 to 24 years old) who have dropped out of school. Recently passed state legislation in Illinois enacts plans to re-enroll more than 25,000 Illinois high-school dropouts each year. By providing a chance for dropouts to realize their dreams of becoming successful adults, this legislation and its implementation will help reduce violence on the streets and incarceration rates, and save taxpayers more than $290,000 over the lifetime of each re-enrolled student.

The panel emphasized that it is critical to focus on re-engaging young people who have previously stepped away from their education. Often these former students, who face overwhelming personal and social challenges, realize they can improve their lives by completing high school so they re-enroll in smaller schools that can help them navigate toward a diploma and more. Unfortunately, there are not enough available comprehensive programs for the students who want to re-enroll.

“There are no downsides to getting kids back into the classroom,” said Ruiz. “In addition to getting young people off the street and reducing their risk of encountering violence, we surround them with peers who also have come to understand that education is the key to unlocking future success. Placing young people into healthy and positive environments is critical.”

GROUNDBREAKING LEGISLATION

The new legislation, signed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn on July 30, 2009, is a critical next step in the state’s ground breaking educational efforts. The Illinois Hope and Opportunity Pathways through Education (IHOPE) (SB 1796), the most comprehensive piece of legislation in the nation on this topic, will provide a planning and funding structure to re-enroll high school dropouts.

“Illinois is leading the nation in developing a comprehensive system of real education opportunities to re-enroll significant numbers of high school dropouts,” said State Representative Mitchell. “Thanks to the hard work of everyone who has made today possible in launching programs like IHOPE, we continue to move closer to getting dropouts back in school and earning their diplomas.”

Additionally, Senate Bill 612 increases the number of charter schools across the state and enables the development of five new multi-site charter schools in Chicago to specifically help dropouts return to school.

“We’re at a crossroads, and the addition of new charter schools will make a difference in reversing dangerous trends,” said Sen. Lightford. “On any given day, 23 percent of Black male high school dropouts are in jail, and teen pregnancy is on the rise. With diplomas and a fresh start, we will be helping young people get back on track with the tools needed for a bright and successful future.”

IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATIONS

A key recommendation by the Council is for Illinois to include $25 million to fund IHOPE in its Race to the Top (RTT) Application as the program would directly address the RTT priority of increasing high school graduation rates with a projected rate increase from 3 percent to 3.5 percent. Through re-enrollment, IHOPE can directly address the RTT priority of reducing the achievement gap across student subgroups, since Black and Hispanic students make up 35 and 24 percent of all Illinois dropouts, respectively.

Additional recommendations are for Illinois to include $1.3 million in its RTT Application for the development and implementation of a set of high school course tests aligned with state standards, enabling recovery of high school credits for re-enrolled students and meeting the RTT priority of awarding credit based on student performance. Implementation of this system is also a key high school dropout prevention strategy and will increase the number of students who stay in school and go on to college, employment, or further training. This would address the RTT priority of also increasing high school graduation rates with a projected rate increase from 3 percent to 3.5 percent.

A third recommendation is that Illinois should develop performance standards that would encourage school districts to develop programs serving re-enrolled students. Existing NCLB policies may pose a barrier for local school districts to re-enroll significant numbers of high-risk, low-skilled dropouts. Outcome based measures should be developed a growth gain model to track re-enrolled high school dropouts’ progress. These measures would include multiple performance assessment outcomes that align with the best program practices for successful programs to re-enroll students who had dropped out of school.

“Many dropouts want to return to school but do not have an opportunity because there are not enough comprehensive programs to engage them,” said Jack Wuest, executive director of Alternative Schools Network. “Through the formation of five Chicago multi-site charter schools specifically for dropouts, we can provide an opportunity for students to re-enroll and earn their diploma.”

ABOUT THE COUNCIL ON RE-ENROLLING STUDENTS WHO DROPPED OUT OF SCHOOL & ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS NETWORK

The IHOPE and Chicago HOPE legislation grew from the Illinois Task Force on Re-Enrolling Students Who Dropped Out of School January 2008 final report. The work of the Task Force is now continuing through the Council on Re-Enrolling Students Who Dropped Out of School, chaired by Jesse Ruiz and includes a wide range of legislators, education associations and groups, including the Alternative Schools Network and the Chicago Urban League.

The Alternative Schools Network (ASN) is a not-for-profit organization in Chicago working to provide quality education with a specific emphasis on inner-city children, youth and adults. Since 1973, ASN has been supporting community based and community-run programs to develop and expand training and other educational services in Chicago’s inner-city neighborhoods. In addition to supporting direct services, ASN has been a consistent and effective advocate for community-based services, whereby the people involved are active participants in developing and running programs – not passive recipients of services. To shape policies and programs, ASN has built an impressive track record of operating successful education, employment and support service programs.

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