Board reviews Graduation Alliance data‑sharing agreement to locate and reengage dropouts

At the Nov. 10 work session trustees reviewed a proposed data‑sharing agreement with Graduation Alliance, a national student recovery organization the district has invited to help locate and reengage students who dropped out.

A trustee introduced the partnership and said the district will provide a dropout list and Graduation Alliance will deploy enrollment counselors to determine whether students transferred, earned a GED or remain without a high‑school diploma. "We have partnered with Graduation Alliance... This is no cost to the school district," the trustee said during the presentation.

Carolyn Taylor, a partner from Graduation Alliance, told the board the organization receives a district‑supplied dropout list (going back three years), uses a multimodal outreach strategy (telephone, texting and social media), and offers students an opportunity to earn a diploma through the American Academy in Indiana, an accredited program. Taylor said Graduation Alliance "will report back to the district all of that data" including whether a student graduated elsewhere, and provides barrier data to inform district practice.

Board members asked about success rates and reasons students drop out. Taylor said, on average, Graduation Alliance finds and reengages about 10% of students on a dropout list and cited common barriers such as employment, childcare responsibilities and transportation.

The board did not vote on the agreement at the work session; trustees said the data‑sharing agreement will appear again on the regular meeting agenda for formal approval and signatures.

(Reporting note: details of the outreach model, success rate and diploma pathway were provided by Carolyn Taylor of Graduation Alliance during the Nov. 10 work session.)