Upcoming Events

Policy Challenges Conference: Bridging Research and Practice:
Dropout Prevention: Keeping Our Kids in School

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

8:00 AM–4:30 PM EST

Administrative and Conference Center at the University of the Virgin Islands—St. Thomas Campus
#2 John Brewers Bay
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00802-9990
(340) 693-1160

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AGENDA

PRESS RELEASE

CO-HOSTED BY
Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Education

This event is for Virgin Islands stakeholders only.

OVERVIEW
The economic and social consequences of leaving school without a high school diploma have a profound impact on the students and the entire community. In 2006–07, 13.8 percent of US Virgin Islands teens were estimated to be high-school dropouts by US VI KidsCount. By contrast, 7 percent of U.S. teens age 16–19 were estimated to be high-school dropouts in the same period. Increasing the number of students who graduate from high school and reducing the dropout rate is a priority of the US Virgin Islands Department of Education (VIDE). This event will assist VIDE and Virgin Islands educators and policymakers to better understand this complex issue and to forge collaborative efforts with the purpose of developing and revising policies and practices that impact school completion and participation.

Dr. Russell Rumberger, co-author of the Dropout Prevention Practice Guide published by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES), will share the Guide’s six evidence-based recommendations about effective practices to prevent students from dropping out of school. Key stakeholder representatives from our community will comment on these recommendations from the perspectives of USVI policymakers and practitioners. REL-NEI will provide information on research-based resources to assist policymakers and practitioners in their efforts to address this problem. Additionally, attendees will participate in discussions, facilitated by staff at the Equity Assistance Center, about local laws, policies, and practices that are needed to reduce dropout rates and increase student attendance in USVI schools.

FEATURED SPEAKER
Dr. Russell Rumberger is Professor of Education at the University of California at Santa Barbara. His research interests focus on school dropouts, school mobility, educational underachievement of ethnic and language minority students, and school effectiveness, and he employs both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Rumberger is co-author of the Dropout Prevention Practice Guide, published by IES. Other recent publications include: Immigration, Language, and Education: How Does Language Policy Structure Opportunity?; Ethnic and Gender Differences in California High School Graduation Rates; and What the Federal Government Can Do to Improve High School Performance.

KEY SPEAKERS AND PANELISTS

• Honorable Wayne James, Senator and Chairperson, Senate Committee on Education, Youth and Culture
• Honorable La Verne Terry, Ed. D., Commissioner, VI Department of Education; REL-NEI Governing Board
• Mrs. Winona Hendricks, Chair, VI Board of Education
• Mrs. Carol Henneman, Executive Director, VI Board of Education; REL-NEI Governing Board
• Dr. David Hall, President, University of the Virgin Islands
• Ms. Janine Schuster, Deputy Superintendent, St. Croix District
• Ms. Cira Burke, Director of Intervention Services, St. Thomas–St. John District
• Mrs. Dee Baecher-Brown, President, VI Community Foundation;REL-NEI Governing Board
• Ms. Jill Weber, Director, REL-NEI
• Ms. Janet Phlegar, Director of State Relations, REL-NEI
• Dr. Velma Cobb, Director, Region II Equity Assistance Center

SIGN UP TODAY!

Registration is by invitation only. For more information, e-mail Sandra Espada-Santos.