The Southern Regional Education Board hammered away at the need to improve high school completion rates and prepare more students for college during the group鈥檚 annual board meeting here June 25-27.
鈥淚t hurts that about 40 percent of our high school students are not getting a diploma,鈥� Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican, said of his state鈥檚 graduation rate.
Mr. Perdue made the remarks in his June 27 acceptance speech to about 100 attendees after being elected as the group鈥檚 new chairman, replacing Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, a Democrat. The SREB is a nonprofit, Atlanta-based organization that focuses on school improvement and research. Its 16 member states stretch from Florida to Delaware.
鈥淚t might be wild and ambitious,鈥� Mr. Perdue continued, 鈥渂ut I think we ought to have 100 percent of our kids graduate from high school.鈥�
Like the rest of the nation, the SREB states have a long way to go: Ten of those states are below the nation鈥檚 average graduation rate of 69.6 percent, according to Diplomas Count, a report released last month by Education Week.
To help get there, the Georgia governor said, the SREB will identify successful local initiatives鈥攍ikely involving rigorous coursework, providing students with feedback, and connecting schoolwork with career and technical studies鈥攁nd try to expand them statewide.
For example, he highlighted an initiative in his state that will be launched this fall to place a 鈥済raduation coach鈥� in every high school.
鈥淭hey will do whatever it takes: a kick in the pants or a hug around the neck,鈥� he said. In an interview after his speech, Mr. Perdue said he hopes eventually to place graduation coaches in middle schools as well.
But SREB officials noted that the other big push will have to involve convincing the public that there is a graduation-rate problem and that it must be addressed.
David S. Spence, who is completing his first year as the president of the SREB, said that the responses often heard when low graduation rates are discussed range from 鈥渋t鈥檚 always been like this鈥� to 鈥渢here are different ways of measuring this,鈥� or 鈥渨e are improving.鈥�
鈥淭his is real, but there is not the kind of awareness and concern there needs to be,鈥� he said.
Mr. Spence and Gov. Perdue said that improving college readiness would be a focal point of their group this year, and they promised to urge higher education leaders to get more involved in the effort.
Toward that end, the SREB will form a panel to study ways to develop and build standards for college readiness into the high school curriculum.
鈥淲e can keep requiring courses, but kids who took these courses still need remediation,鈥� Mr. Spence said. 鈥淗igher education must speak with one voice about readiness.鈥�
In an animated session during the conference, two education experts discussed ways to improve the transition from 8th to 9th grade.
鈥淭his is the most difficult transition in education,鈥� said Gene Bottoms, the SREB鈥檚 senior vice president.
Referring to the 鈥�9th grade bulge,鈥� he noted that failure rates in 9th grade contribute to the median number of 9th graders in SREB states being 16 percent higher than the number of students in 8th grade. He stressed the importance of students taking鈥攁nd passing鈥攔igorous courses in middle school and addressing students鈥� academic weaknesses when they reach 9th grade.
鈥淭he best way to make kids successful in 9th grade is to make sure they have a good 8th grade,鈥� echoed Tom Vander Ark, the executive director for education initiatives at the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The two speakers suggested many strategies for improving 9th grade success rates, such as putting some of the best teachers in the 9th grade, improving communication between middle and high schools, and connecting one adult with every student as a way to closely monitor his or her progress.
Mr. Bottoms and Mr. Vander Ark acknowledged the challenges of improving schools that are low-performing and failing to meet the needs of struggling students. 鈥淎 single school has a hard time if the board is not supportive,鈥� Mr. Bottoms said.
Reflecting on his work, Mr. Vander Ark added, 鈥淚 completely overestimated individual schools鈥� ability to write their own curriculum. They鈥檙e struggling for a reason. They don鈥檛 know what to do.鈥�
Reflecting on the coming school year in Louisiana, Gov. Blanco, the outgoing SREB chairwoman, said she expects that the opening of more than 50 schools in New Orleans this fall will help draw families who fled the area following Hurricane Katrina back to the city.
After years of being plagued by low student performance and leadership controversies, schools in New Orleans have been organized into a mix that includes some under state leadership, others run as independent charter schools, and a few run by the school district. (鈥�56 New Orleans 69传媒 to Accept 69传媒 for New Year,鈥� this issue.)
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge experiment to see if we can redesign an urban school system that was not experiencing success,鈥� the governor said in an interview here.
She added, though, that many displaced families also have come to expect more from their schools, based on their experiences outside New Orleans. She recounted conversations with parents who told her, 鈥� 鈥業 want to come home, but I鈥檓 in a decent school now, and that鈥檚 what I want.鈥� 鈥�
Ms. Blanco added: 鈥淥ur families have higher and more focused expectations. I know that some before didn鈥檛 know what to ask for, and now they鈥檙e coming back empowered.鈥�
