A Plan to Decrease the Dropout Rate among School Students

A Plan to Decrease the Dropout Rate among School Students SCENERIO ABC High School has seen a dramatic increase in the number of students who are choosing to drop out of school over the past decade. The reasons are limitless. They range from failure to identify students who may be at risk of dropping out, to inadequate academic programming to accommodate at risk students, to lack of parental concern and involvement. Therefore, the Academic Council has developed a comprehensive plan that will address the issue of the student dropout rate and provide goals and actions to take to decrease the dropout rate among our high school students. For the purpose of this writing, dropout rate is defined as the rate at which students withdraw from school during grades nine through twelve and who do not attain a General Education Degree (GED). TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Scenario Table of Contents Demographics Background Statement of the Problem Members of Planning Committee: Leadership Team Initial Meeting and Future Meetings Mission Belief/Statement Paramet ers Scanning Tools SWOT Analysis Literature Review Goals Strategic Communication to Share Plan Action Teams Action Plans Communication of Results/Outcomes Future Recommendations References/Bibliography Appendix/Appendices DEMOGRAPHICS ABC High School is located at 1234 School Way, Your Town, GA; a rural area in the North Georgia mountains. The student population is comprised of the following: Enrollment 1997 Students per Teacher Ratio 16.4:1 Economically Disadvantaged 51.3% Breakdown by Ethnicity for Students – White 84.0% Black 0.4% Hispanic 13.7% Asian/Pacific Islander 0.5% American Indian/Alaska Native 0.2% Number of students eligible for free and/or reduced meals 1116 Number of teachers 128 Degrees held by teachers Bachelor’s Degree 45.1% Master’s Degree 34.2% Master’s Degree + 30 Hours 15.3% Doctoral Degree 2.7% Description of organization Began in 1934 with 300 students and 13 teachers Eight classrooms Small library Office A partial basement housed classrooms for agriculture and science classes Description of community Businesses in area Automotive repair Carpet industry Computer and electronics Food and dining Home – indoor/outdoor Real estate Travel and recreation Business services Community services Finance Health and personal care Legal Shopping Religious entities 26 churches in ABC High School area Baptist (includes Southern Baptist, Free Will Baptist, Missionary Baptist, Independent Baptist), Methodist, Pentecostal, and Non-Denominational Other educational facilities 1 four-year college within 30 miles of ABC High School Community celebrations (what’s important in this area) Sporting events Town festivals Parent educational levels Number of people who have achieved the following levels of education: No high school 3316 Some high school 4601 Some college 3726 Associates Degree 967 Bachelor’s Degree 1321 Graduate Degree 695 BACKGROUND The dropout rate among high school students has steadily increased o ver the past decade. In several of the largest school systems across the country half of the students are dropping out (Thomas and Date, 2006). Some of the contributing factors to this increase are a lack of appropriate measures to identify students who may be at risk of dropping out, a lack of adequate and appropriate programs that will foster academic achievement for at-risk high school students, and a failure to educate parents on the importance of their participation in the education process of their child. What events have occurred over the past decade that affected the dropout rate? There are less stringent consequences for students who do not attend school, as well for parents who do not actively participate in the educational progress of their child. There is a decrease in parental involvement, due in part to mothers returning to the workforce. There is an increase in the occurrence of teen pregnancy and teen parenthood.

Nano- and Micro-Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nano- and Micro-Technology - Essay Example The term nanotechnology was used by N. Taniguchi of the University of Tokyo in 1974, at micrometer scale (Slator, 2002). Well, it's been more than five decades since Richard Feynman talked about the Nano components around us and we are into 21st century. Though the use of nano-components has not come to our daily usage, but the way the scientific community is working hard, it appears quite realistic in times to come. The microscopic technological developments on the nanometer scale of 0.1 to 100 nm seems to be going ahead with decent pace. Hocken et al. (2008) define nanotechnology as "the study, development and processing of materials, devices, and systems in which structure on a dimension of less than 100 nm is essential to obtain the required functional performance." Subsequent studies have indicated that when materials are reduced to nano-scale, they start exhibiting different types of properties, as compared to their performances in macro form. This proves that nano-structures can prove helpful in enabling unique applications. The traditional top-down approach in micro-fabrication process implies that we break or cut bigger materials into smaller components. In this approach we fabricate nano-objects from a larger parent entity with the help of lithographic patterning techniques. The top-down approach uses the traditional workshop or micro-fabrication methods with externally-controlled tools1. Richard Feynman, while suggesting that 'there's plenty of room at the bottom', said, "We can arrange the atoms the way we want . . . the very atom. . . all the way down!" At that time he could clearly visualise the top-down approach. The nano-fabrication technologies like photolithography, nanomolding, dip-pen lithography and nanofluidics are some examples of top-down approach. The top down approach has been used for fabricating tissue engineering scaffolds by controlling the pore geometry, size, distribution and spatial geometry2. On the other hand the bottom up approach indicates that we assemble smaller objects and build a larger useful entity. This technique uses the molecular self assembly chemical process. In this case nanomaterials or structures are fabricated from the build-up of atoms or molecules in a controlled manner that is regulated by thermodynamic means such as self-assembly3. In order to come out with quality fabrication in the bottom up approach, shaping of the nano-object and extremely precise, nanometer-scale control in positioning the object is of vital importance (Berger, 2009). Whatever might be the approach in fabricating the nano-structures, it involves precise control and manipulation of atomic particles and molecules. Fig-1 depicts the difference between top-down and bottom up approaches. Nanotechnology holds great potential in creating new materials and devices with applications in diverse fields like medicine, energy production, consumer electronics etc. In medicines it can be used in diagnostics, prevention as well as treatment. Some important

Discussion Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

Discussion Questions - Assignment Example Unearned revenue is recognized as an asset and liability. But when the service has been provided for it is then recognized as an earned revenue. They issue bond in order to help them obtain a long term finance. I would rather buy the bond at a discount because it will be cheap with a higher interest rate. The determining factor is the interest rate reflected in the market. It is a method that spreads the discount evenly over the periods during which interest is paid. When dealing with bonds payable, it involves crediting interest expense and debiting on bond payable. It also spreads the premium evenly over the months. The number of months the bind is held is divided by the number of months from the beginning of the tax period to the maturity date. The result is then multiplied by the bond premium, which is a reduced amount each year. This is because of the bond amortization form earlier years which also helps in calculation of the premium each year They are both treated as liabilities. Notes payable are recorded by the company as a liability while the other party, for example a bank, records the entry as notes receivable. Then the company makes another entry, debiting the interest expense and crediting the interest payable. On the other hand for accounts payable the company do not accrue any interest. Therefore the creditors recognize it in their books as accounts receivable and the company credits its accounts payable. Statement of cash flows enables a company displays information about the inflows (receipts) and outflows (payments) of cash of a company. It includes information about the income statement, balance sheet and the retained earnings statement. It is divided into three ways that tell us on how the company receives and uses its money. Operating section outlines money received from the daily operations of the company. On the other hand, the investment activities section outlines the price