Schools launch pilot program to meet needs of at-risk students

COLUMBIA - Twelve elementary schools and middle schools in South Carolina are taking part in a pilot program to meet the needs of at-risk students in lower grades.

According to a news release from the South Carolina Department of Education, the two-year effort - Early Connections - strengthens the collaboration of dropout prevention activities between high schools and their feeder elementary and middle schools. It will provide technical assistance and training, especially in analyzing school data and developing intervention strategies to reduce the number of potential at-risk students who may fail to graduate. 

Early Connections is jointly sponsored by the Southeastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) center, the Education and Economic Development Act’s At-Risk Student Committee and the South Carolina Department of Education’s Office of Regional Services, the release said.

Participating schools include:

●Andrew Jackson and South middle schools in Lancaster County School District

●W.A. Perry Middle, Burton Pack Elementary, Carver-Lyon Elementary and Hyatt Park Elementary, all in Richland School District One

●Mary Wright Elementary, Whitlock Junior High and Carver Junior High in Spartanburg School District 7

●Hampton Elementary, Fennell Elementary and North District Middle in Hampton School District 1.

School staff members attended a workshop in late July to learn more about research on effective dropout prevention strategies and interventions in lower grades.  Dr. John Lane of the At-Risk Committee said that many students mentally and emotionally drop out of school in first and second grade, the release said.

“We believe that a seamless flow of proactive intervention activities, from elementary-to-middle-to-high school, will prove very effective in reducing the number of potential dropouts,” Lane said. 

Early identification of at-risk students is important because those who don’t do well in school initially tend to repeat this pattern at the next level, according to state SERVE policy coordinator Cindy McIntee. 

“Addressing the needs of these students will over time produce successful, income- earning individuals who will increase the capital of the state and reduce money spent on prisons,” McIntee said. “Early Connections is going to be extremely beneficial to the state and our communities.”

Kathy Bell, director of Spartanburg School District Seven’s Viking Academy, called Early Connections a comprehensive approach to K-12 dropout prevention. 

“So often we look at graduation rates as a high school issue, but intervention must begin much earlier and continue throughout a student’s educational experience,” Bell said.  “There’s a critical need to address the problem early, and Early Connections makes this approach possible. It’s an opportunity to work with students over a long period of time as they transition and grow.” 

As the project moves forward, officials plan two webinars in the fall and a second workshop in spring 2010.  Schools also will have access to ongoing technical support on an as-needed basis.