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Riverside County Office of Education receives $467,000 grant to address dropout issues
The Riverside County Office of Education has been awarded a $467,000 federal grant that will be used to fund ongoing dropout prevention programs.
“The dropout problem is a deep concern for all of us,” said Kenneth M. Young, Riverside County Superintendent of Schools. “We know that students who drop out of school experience significant problems in life and frequently live in poverty. We want our students to be successful and lead fulfilling, happy lives as contributing members of society.”
Young credited Congressman Ken Calvert for his assistance and support of the program in securing the federal funding.
The Riverside County Office of Education School Dropout Prevention and Student Success Initiative will use research based intervention models to establish school-wide reform in selected school settings across Riverside County.
Research has shown that about 24% of Riverside County students drop out of school each year, slightly higher than the state average. The incompletion rate is higher within students from certain ethnic backgrounds, such as Hispanic and African American. Also, there are far more male students that drop out of school than female.
Researchers at UCLA have found that disconnection and alienation from classroom teachers and the lack of a caring adult are main contributing factors to student dropout rates. The RCOE School Dropout Prevention and Student Success Initiative, also known as Come Back Kids, uses proven, research based programs such as Capturing Kids’ Hearts to change school cultures to ensure that students stay connected to adults on their campus, are engaged in their learning process, and feel cared about.
Capturing Kids’ Hearts is a three-day training program that produces results which include: (1) developing safe, trusting, self-managing classrooms; (2) improving school attendance; and (3) decreasing delinquent and disruptive behaviors at school. A randomized-control evaluation will be done to monitor the success of Capturing Kids’ Hearts with respect to attendance, behavior, CAHSEE pass rates, meeting requirements for college, and graduation rates.
For information contact:
Rick Peoples,
Public Information Officer
Telephone: (951) 826-6642
Fax: (951) 826-6199
rpeoples@rcoe.us
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