Albany Options School reports attendance gains, stronger postsecondary planning and expanding CTE
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Summary
Principal Mark Hannon told the board Albany Options School improved postsecondary planning and attendance after hiring a full-time career advisor and an attendance supervisor; the school aims to continue gains and expand career and CTE offerings.
Mark Hannon, principal of Albany Options School, reported to the board that the school is continuing multi-year work on three goals: increasing graduates with implemented postsecondary plans, improving five-year completer rates, and raising regular-attender rates.
Hannon said the school increased the share of graduates with an implemented postsecondary plan from 52% three years ago to 81% this year, attributing gains to a newly hired full-time career advisor who runs Oregon CIS training, coordinates FAFSA nights and conducts individual student meetings. Hannon said he hoped to reach a 96% target and to continue the program next year.
On completion metrics, Hannon said the school uses a five-year completer rate (which includes GED completers) rather than a standard graduation rate because many Albany Options students enter credit-deficient; he reported that the school—s five-year completer rate moved from 86% to 85% this reporting year and said staff plan continued work to meet their targets.
Hannon highlighted attendance interventions as a major area of work. The school used federal improvement dollars to hire an attendance supervisor, John Hunter, who Hannon said completed more than 50 home visits and 325 face-to-face check-ins, resulting in an —about a 7.5 percent increase in the attendance of those students,— according to Hannon—s presentation. He described a tiered attendance strategy (green/yellow/red) that guides targeted and intensive interventions and said staff are analyzing attendance-versus-success quadrants to design interventions that move students to high-attendance, high-success outcomes.
Hannon also noted expansion of CTE and articulated classes with Linn-Benton Community College and Lane, a partnership with North Albany Wellness to provide in-building mental-health services, and community-engagement projects such as donated construction work with local fire departments. The school plans to continue use of federal funds where available to sustain the attendance supervisor position and is preparing to roll over several site improvement goals into 2025—26.
Board members praised the school—s results and asked for additional attendance counts and follow-up data; Hannon said he would provide detailed student counts for the attendance interventions and continue to report progress to the board.