Destinations program reports higher attendance and steady credit gains; graduation trends improving

Dr. Crook, principal for the district’s Destinations alternative program, presented outcomes showing regular-attender increases and improvements in student credit accumulation and graduation rates.

Dr. Crook said regular attenders rose from 23% (previous snapshot) to 38% after the program implemented a welcoming-call attendance protocol and nonpunitive re-engagement steps. "At 10:00, if they're not at school, it's a phone call to them... When they walk in the door, we say we're so happy to have you here," he said.

Why it matters: Alternative programs serve students with interrupted enrollment patterns and higher risk of drop-out. Credit-earning and graduation gains are immediate indicators of program effectiveness.

Supporting details: Dr. Crook gave cohort credit totals (seniors averaging about 9.4 credits last year, juniors averaging 8.27, sophomores and freshmen smaller averages) and said last year the program earned about 466 total credits across 53 students. He also noted OSAS participation dropped from 98% to 78% in a recent year and said participation affects apparent proficiency rates.

Assessment and college-readiness testing: PreACT and ACT participation and logistics were discussed; the program missed an ASVAB administration due to a federal shutdown and has limited satisfaction with disaggregated national comparison data from vendors. Dr. Crook said science proficiency for the program measured above the state average on the eleventh-grade science assessment.

Board discussion and next steps: Board members asked for clearer slide labels, counts for percentage metrics and more disaggregated comparisons to regional or state benchmarks. Dr. Crook said the program will continue family outreach and work on intrinsic/extrinsic motivation to boost participation in state and college-readiness testing.

Provenance: Destinations data presented by Dr. Crook in the district data segment (start 00:30:47).