The Importance of Reaching Potential Dropouts Early by John Huber, Principal of Insight School of Minnesota

Youth intervention in Minnesota has many faces - John Huber is the principal of Insight School of Minnesota. In this post, he describes his experience with early intervention for high school dropouts.

Last year a report was released by the U.S. Census Bureau showing 6.2 million students dropped out of high school in 2007. That number is astonishing. Given the right environment and support system, every student should be able to learn and receive their diploma. To see that number decrease, students who are considering dropping out need to be reached – as soon as possible – for an intervention and need to know about the alternative options that are available to them.

As the principal of an online high school, Insight School of Minnesota, I see students every day that might have dropped out of high school if it weren’t for online education. Their reasons for dropping out (or considering it) vary, but the following are a few common issues I’ve heard:

• I’m behind on schoolwork, missing classes, or feel that what I’m learning isn’t important. Some students start falling behind, need to retake a course, miss early classes or just aren’t happy with what they’re learning. An online environment gives them time to catch up on courses personalized for them when they are ready to study.
• I need to work to provide income for my family. The fact that students can work during the day and then log in and go to their coursework around their work schedule keeps them on pace to graduate while still being able to earn money to support themselves or their families.
• I don’t have childcare options during the typical school day. Similarly, students that are also parents can work around their child’s sleep patterns or when they have family members who are home to care for them.
• I’ve been a victim of bullying, relationship violence or negative peer pressure. Some students who have dealt with these situations in a brick & mortar school might just need a change of scenery or more privacy to get away from feeling overwhelmed or in danger.

This is far from a complete list. The point is that there are many reasons why students drop out. Many kids just feel stuck, and reaching them before they make the wrong decision is of upmost importance. Here are a couple of statistics that might catch the attention of such students:

• A high school dropout earns an average of about $260,000 less over his or her lifetime than a high school graduate and about $1 million less than a college graduate
• 81 percent of students who drop out say they now believe graduating from high school is important to success in life

(Both via the Gates Foundation’s Silent Epidemic Report)

K-12 online learning has grown substantially recently. More than 28,000 Minnesota high school students took courses online in ’08-’09, a 19 percent increase from ’07-’08 (Evergreen Education Group). The flexibility to learn on your own time, at your own pace and where you are comfortable has proven very helpful for many students.

There are other options besides online learning, though. If students don’t feel online education is the right choice for them, many high schools offer vocational or technical school options. Others partner with community colleges to offer dual-credit courses, and some schools have nighttime programs that might just be what a student needs.

If you know a student who might need the kind of intervention I’m talking about, visit www.dropoutnanswers.com.

John Huber is principal of Insight School of Minnesota, a fully supported diploma-granting online public high school. Insight School of Minnesota is tuition-free for Minnesota residents and is made possible through a partnership between Brooklyn Center School District and Insight Schools, Inc. To learn more, call 800-711-5944, or visit www.insightmn.net.

A Resolution for the Healthy Development of Youth and Children

This Wednesday, a diverse group of youth service providers, children’s and youth advocates, and policy staffers came together to discuss the up-coming year of children’s and youth issues at the state and federal level. We also looked at how we can bring children’s and youth issues to the forefront during the Minnesota Governor’s race. I am currently compiling all of the information gathered at this working session so that we can share it with other children’s and youth advocates and with our legislators and candidates. For now, the most important thing is to show that we are a united voice of behalf of children and youth in Minnesota.

Step 1: Bring a resolution supporting the healthy development of youth and children to your local precinct caucus on FEBRUARY 2^nd. For more on how to propose a resolution try www.ready4k.org (The sample resolution pdf does not have this year’s dates). We suggest:

Resolution for the Healthy Development of Youth and Children

We believe that children and youth in Minnesota are best served by a comprehensive approach with a focus on the whole child. I support a unified voice in the state to strengthen the public’s will to endorse policies and investments, which will meet the needs of all Minnesota’s children and help them to reach their full potential.

Visit Minnesota Children’s Platform Coalition’s Facebook Cause Page

Step 2: The Minnesota Children’s Platform Coalition wants to show that we stand as one voice for Minnesota’s children and youth. Please consider signing our commitment form, a statement of support for a continuum of care for children and youth. The more people and organizations we can get to sign, the stronger we are – even (and especially) when facing a grim economic situation. You can mail a signed copy of the resolution to:

Sue Fust

1619 Dayton Avenue, Suite 111

Saint Paul, MN 55104

Or you can email it to:

cryan@mnyipa.org

Keeping Kids Drug-Free by Kevin Spading, Project Director, Minnesota Prevention Resource Center

The Minnesota Prevention Resource Center is your “grand central station” for information on Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug prevention throughout Minnesota, as well as your clearinghouse for free and low-cost materials. Part of our mission is to support the parents and professionals who are working hard to keep our kids from abusing substances. Many of our resources are free and can be accessed from our website (www.emprc.org). Here you can sign up for MnPrev, our free weekly newsletter. You can also view videos from the Partnership for Drug Free America, receive free technical assistance through our “Ask the Specialist” feature, and download our materials catalog. In this blog post we wanted to focus on the role parents/guardians play in the development of drug-free kids.

In 2009, Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Founder and Chair of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, published a new book titled, How to Raise a Drug-Free Kid The Straight Dope for Parents. In the book Mr. Califano highlights parental engagement as a key to keeping kids off drugs. He offers these nine keys to staying engaged:

1. Be There: Get Involved in Your Children’s Lives and Activities: “Being there—being physically and emotionally available and present—is the essence of parental engagement.” Children who grow up in supportive families are less likely to smoke, drink, or take drugs.

2. Open the Lines of Communication and Keep Them Wide Open: More than 1/3 of teens report never having a serious conversation with their parents about the dangers of drug use. Yet children who learn about the risks of drug use from their parents are much less likely to use them.

3. Set a Good Example: Actions Are More Persuasive than Words: “The most important facet of parental engagement is your own conduct.” Parents who smoke, drink, or use drugs are likelier to have kids who smoke, drink, or use drugs as well.

4. Set Rules and Expect Your Children to Follow Them: “Engagement in your children’s lives involves establishing expectations and limits.” Being able to effectively enforce and explain rules often demonstrates to children that you really care about them.

5. Monitor your Children’s Whereabouts: “Half of teens who come home after 10:00 P.M. on a school night report that drug and alcohol use was going on among their friends.” It’s important to know whom your kids are with, where they are, and what they are doing.

6. Maintain Family Rituals, Such as Eating Dinner Together: More than a decade of research has found that the more a child has dinner with their parents, the less likely they are to smoke, drink, or use drugs.

7. Incorporate Religious and Spiritual Practices into Family Life: “Teens who attend religious services regularly—at least once a week—are at a much lower risk of smoking, drinking, or using drugs than teens who never attend religious services.”

8. Get Dad Engaged—and Keep Him Engaged: “Fathers who are involved in their children’s daily lives and keep open lines of communication with their children sharply reduce their children’s risk of substance abuse.”

9. Engage with the Larger Community: There are other parents that express the same concerns as you. It’s important to get involved with other parents, teachers, and neighbors to establish lines of support and communication.

To learn more about parental engagement and the book How to Raise a Drug-Free Kid The Straight Dope for Parents please visit www.straightdopeforparents.org

Youth Stories by Scott Beaty Executive Director, MN Youth Intervention Programs Association

Youth Intervention may encompass many things, but it always returns to the individual young person who is struggling to make the right choices, often against impossible odds. As part of a statewide association, I get to hear a lot of stories – happy and sad – from youth service providers across Minnesota. A few years ago, YIPA compiled some of these stories as part of the KidsChange initiative. You can find these stories and more like them at the KidsChange website.

Emilio Vargas had just transferred to one of our local middle schools from South Minneapolis. At this new school he struggled to find where he fit in, resulting in frustration that led to many negative attitudes and behaviors regarding school, and life in general. He regularly refused to go to school in the morning and was habitually tardy and truant. When at school, he took his negative attitude to his classes where his teachers were quick to call him out on it. Emilio would often bark back obscenities and idle threats to the teachers whom he believed were belittling him in front of his new classmates. Needless to say, Emilio was having an especially hard time at school and was getting into a lot of trouble behaviorally, academically, and socially.

Out of school things weren't much better. Gang affiliation and activity were his primary hobbies. He was often finding himself hanging around the streets with no positive outlets. Emilio was regularly in fights, participating in destructive behavior, and was once shot at by a group of rival teenagers.

Emilio was referred to our SUCCESS after school program by our Truancy Coordinator and he began attending the program on a daily basis. SUCCESS became a safe and positive place for Emilio to be after school. This program became the "fertile soil" where Emilio was soon to begin growing leaps and bounds. He quickly began making friends and gaining positive relationships with the staff. Emilio was exposed to activities, games, and character development exercises that foster the YMCA's four core values (caring, respect, responsibility, and honesty). Emilio's attitude was quickly making a drastic change for the better.

Emilio Vargas is a prime example of how much a positive after school program and caring staff can help improve the life of young youth. Since joining the SUCCESS program, Emilio has a newfound optimistic approach to life and is getting much more out of it. He is performing wonderfully in school, has loads of friends, is adored by all at the YMCA, participates in extra curricular activities after school, and is truly enjoying himself in all he does. Way to go Emilio! You are truly a remarkable young man!

* * * * *

Nola (age 18) was referred to POINT Northwest for Runaway and Homeless Youth by another youth worker after having been released from a correctional facility where she had served time for an offense she committed as a minor. Nola had recently given birth to a son and Nola's mother would not allow for her to return home due to the fact that she had turned 18 and now had a child of her own - this would change the Household Income Guideline through the county and could potentially result in a loss of the housing subsidy that her mother was receiving. Over the years, Nola's relationship with her mother had dwindled and Nola described a long struggle that revolved around her mother's "mental illness" and chemical dependency. Nola's father had never been part of the picture.

So, Nola found herself homeless, with an infant, for many months and struggling to find anyone who was willing to rent any type of housing to her. She "couch hopped" while working a full time job, searching for housing, and taking care of her son (all without a vehicle and having to take the city bus). She heard repeatedly from property managers that even though she had a job, and had been employed with them for quite some time, her income just was not sufficient enough in their eyes and she'd have to look elsewhere.

POINT Northwest began working with Nola and her case worker at a time when Nola had, pretty much, exhausted all options. Due to strong persistence on Nola's part, and with the help of the supportive services within our program, POINT Northwest was able to secure housing for Nola and her son.

Nola and Kyle now live in a one-bedroom apartment together (via a scholarship through POINT Northwest's Transitional Living Program) and Nola continues to work and attend school. She aspires to pursue college eventually and has a goal of becoming a Correctional Officer someday.

* * * * *

From a former youth at Neighborhood Youth Services: I am presently a student at Lake Superior College studying graphic design, but my life could have turned out much differently.

I was born in Chicago, and from the start, my life has been rough. I was the first of seven kids in a poor, black family living in poor black neighborhoods, attending poor, black schools surrounded by gangs and a lot of people who just didn't care.

At the age of 17 I moved to Duluth to live with my aunt. It was here that I discovered the Washington Center and Neighborhood Youth Services (NYS), and it was one of the first times I saw an opportunity for change.

As one of the programs operated by Woodland Hills, NYS was a place that really stood out for me. It was the first time I was introduced into a completely positive environment. The mentors and staff at NYS were adults who I could look up to and who looked out for the youth---not only inside the youth center but outside as well during our everyday lives.

To be honest, if it wasn't for NYS, I would have been out on the street getting into all sorts of trouble. The people in the program were living examples who showed that despite your surroundings or your origin, you can have a positive life and do positive things.

Now I have been given the opportunity to be a role model to the next generation by passing on the things I've learned, and more importantly, by just being there for the kids. Through volunteer work and work study, I've been given a chance to be a positive adult figure to kids at NYS can trust and depend on. I've been given a chance to give back to those who have given to me.

In life, there are a great number of influences that shape who we are. My experience at NYS is one thing that has helped shape who I am today.