Skills, not As, are what count at Tulalip, Everett alternative schools

Deer Isle, Maine, struggled to keep students in school; many students felt that a diploma was unnecessary, since they could drop out and join the lobster fishing industry. But the local high school found a creative solution to keep students engaged and ensure more opportunities in what can be a volatile industry. They redesigned courses to suit the interests of students, moving to project-based learning that explores traditional academic topics through fishing and marine themes, such as studying geometry through boat building. The approach has helped increase graduation rates by more than 30 percent.

In San Bernardino, California - a city that has declared bankruptcy and struggles to keep kids in school, one high school uses a comprehensive approach to teaching by offering positive clubs and college prep education, and even a daycare for students with young children. The school allows for mistakes and windy paths along the road to graduation and offers AVID, a national program that gives one-on-one support for students in exchange for a tough course load and promised dedication to school work.

The Aspirations Incubator supports rural Maine communities in creating youth mentoring programs using the Trekkers approach. The incubator gives organizations $600,000 over six years, plus extensive training in fostering belonging and developing leadership. Rather than replicating a one-size-fits-all program, each community develops an authentic program suited to local needs. A study tracking the first cohort of students from 7th grade through high school graduation showed they attended school more often, performed better academically, and enrolled in college at higher rates.

Operation Fresh Start is tackling workforce barriers faced by economically disadvantaged young adults through its Legacy program, which combines classroom instruction with hands-on construction and conservation work. Participants receive individualized learning plans, financial stipends and wraparound support to help them stay on track. In 2024, the program helped 36 young adults earn high school diplomas, 32 earn pre-apprenticeship certifications and reported an average three grade-level increase in reading and math among participants.

Twenty-five years ago, a Spanish teacher in Colorado noticed a troubling trend - many Latino students were dropping out before finishing high school. Leticia Alonso de Lozano started a dropout prevention program, offering students access to tutors, mentors, school supplies, and more. Now a quarter-century old, Adelante! has evolved beyond its original scope into a successful career and college readiness initiative.

Young people are graduating from high schools and not ready for college level work. Liz Willen describes different initiatives around the United States that have provided solutions for improving secondary education. She addresses the importance of STEM, role models for students, and project-based learning.

Thanks to new private and public funding, school completion programs in Seattle, which enable distressed youth to achieve high school equivalency degrees, can now expand.

Despite the evidence of early interventions when children are failing academic, a now-defunct Israeli remedial high school program had long lasting effects on the participants. The teens that participated in the program attended college at higher rates, rose on the income ladder and even had higher marriage rates as adults. “I don’t think that we have evidence to give up on students who are older.”

In Kalamazoo, Michigan, a donor paid for all students to attend college in state free of charge. The program is now expanding beyond monetary aid to offer guidance and additional resources to students who drop out of college or never start college.

Far too many students in Philadelphia are not successfully completing their university degrees. A new program at Community College of Philadelphia involves high school freshman taking the equivalent of two years of college courses to obtain an associate's degree, while also obtaining their high school diploma. The hope is that this will encourage students to go on to complete their university degree.