Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Darrell Cousert
Committee Member
Frederick Fishback
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
adolescents, at-risk students, attitudes, Bethel-Tate High School, Bethel-Tate School District, core courses, course credits, dropout prevention, dropout rate, Freshman Academy, high schools, intervention, literacy programs, postsecondary education, program evaluation, retention, retention programs, rural education, scheduling, secondary education, student achievement, student surveys, student retention, Triumph Trilogy
Abstract
This applied dissertation focused on strategies to assist staff with the retention of students in a rural high school setting. The ideal retention program incorporates a focused learning environment, an extensive literacy program, and improved scheduling. At Bethel-Tate High School, the program was called Triumph Trilogy. All at-risk 9th-grade students were identified and then assigned at-risk “points” based on their identified needs. The 25 students with the most at-risk points were assigned to a Freshman Academy.
The study used a multiple-focus approach. Evaluations of terminal objectives were obtained through student survey responses and qualitative information. The results indicated that the intervention had a significant effect on the obtaining of course credits. The completion of core courses by the 9th-grade at-risk group improved in 2003 to 75% as compared to 45% for the 9th-grade at-risk group from the previous year, 2002. The attitude of at-risk students toward pursuing a postsecondary education showed a 50% improvement by the end of the spring trimester in 2003.
Because of the findings of this applied dissertation, the Triumph Trilogy program has been funded as a necessary feature within Bethel-Tate High School and has become a permanent multilevel retention program to reduce the dropout rate of at-risk 9th graders. Plans for the future include implementation of the program at the 6th–grade level in the Bethel-Tate School District.