A Call for Partners in Drop-out Prevention

There is currently a great opportunity for teams of school-based dropout prevention and recovery practitioners. Teams are invited to join a new online community of practice focused on serving over-age and under-credited youth. This online community looks like an excellent opportunity for making connections in the community and creating meaningful change through professional development with other like-minded organizations.

The online community is based on President Obama's promise that by the year 2020 the United States will have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. The American Institutes for Research (AIR), partnering with the U.S. Department of Education, hopes to provide opportunities for key stakeholders to share knowledge through the online community.

The U.S. Department of Education seeks organizations that show the following characteristics:

• Composed of school and/or district personnel and representatives from one or more organizations with whom they are actively participating in dropout prevention and recovery for over-age, under-credited youth
• Likely to benefit substantially from engagement in the community and also to have distinct expertise or perspective to contribute 
• Willing to make a firm commitment to participating actively and consistently in the activities noted on the agenda 

 Team members will benefit from the community by:

• Receiving help in negotiating difficult, authentic problems they face in their dropout prevention and recovery initiatives through regular interaction with a diverse group of other practitioners struggling with similar challenges, supported by skilled facilitators and outside experts.
• Having their expertise recognized, documented, and celebrated to a national audience, increasing their impact and prestige. 
• Influencing policies of the U.S. Department of Education and other agencies that enable and constrain their work. 
• Contributing to addressing a significant challenge for our society more effectively and on a larger scale than would be possible working in isolation.

The agenda of activities for the core community will take place over the span of a year, from December 2012 to November 2013.

It sounds like a great opportunity for those involved with at-risk youth! If your team is interested in applying to join, contact Marshal Conley (mconley@air.org) by November 1, 2012. Include a brief description of how your team qualifies to join the online community and what you hope to gain from the experience. Good luck!