View the Official AAPF16 Conference Program

AAPF16 Program

2016 Agenda 

The 5th Annual Alternative Accountability Policy Forum will provide another excellent summit that encompasses accountability policies, partnership development to support re-engagement, instructional strategies for at-promise students, and ways to produce and use relevant data.

All meetings, meals, and receptions were held at the conference hotel, the Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa. Learn more about the Location.

WestEd Report on AAPF 2014

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27

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4:00 pm
Registration
Coronado Ballroom Foyer

5:00 - 6:00 pm
Welcome Reception/Meet the RAPSA Board
Coronado Ballroom Foyer
Graciously sponsored by Walton Family Foundation; Young, Minney and Corr LLP; John Muir Charter Schools; and Barney & Barney

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28

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7:00 am 
Registration
Coronado Ballroom Foyer

7:00 - 8:00 am
Breakfast
Coronado Ballroom

8:00 - 9:00 am
Welcome and Keynote Speaker
Coronado Ballroom
​RAPSA Proudly Welcome Delaine Eastin as Keynote Speaker
Delaine Eastin, California’s former State Superintendent of Public Instruction, will deliver the 2016 Alternative Accountability Policy Forum keynote address.  Delaine served two terms as State Superintendent, the highest ranking official in California's public school system.
 
As Superintendent, Delaine oversaw a $2.3 billion investment to reduce class sizes.  She created “Net Day”, where 30,000 volunteers joined her, President Clinton, and Vice President Gore in an electronic "barn raising".  Vice President Gore credited that experience as motivation for his e-rate proposal that helps schools expand digital access.  Eastin is a champion of Universal Preschool and founded a Preschool Task Force made up of educators, business leaders, civil rights advocates and children's advocates.  Delaine also successfully led the charge to place the largest school bond in history on the ballot.

Delaine served four terms in the State Assembly before her election to statewide office where she chaired the Assembly Education Committee and shaped legislation to reform California's public schools.  Delaine’s legislation included bills creating charter schools, promoting parental involvement, and reducing bureaucratic hurdles for school construction.

Delaine is a frequent speaker on leadership, equity and education issues around the Country.  She serves on a variety of boards serving to engage underserved communities.  As the child of a working-class family and the first in her family to attend college, Delaine hasn’t forgotten where she came from.  She serves on the governing boards of the School for Integrated Academics and Technologies, a dropout recovery charter school; the Yolo County Court Appointed Student Advocates; and established a scholarship for women who are first in their family to attend college, at her alma mater UC Davis. 
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Delaine Eastin is an education rock star with a demonstrated commitment to at promise students, equal opportunities for girls and women, increased education funding, digital learning, and empowering youth to overcome poverty and trauma.  Welcome Delaine Eastin as she speaks out for at-promise students and the leaders who serve them.


9:15 - 10:15 am
Breakout Sessions I

Proposed Practices for Long-Term Engagement of At-Promise School Alumni 
Matthew LaPlante, Department of Journalism and Communication at Utah State University
Strand: Teaching and Learning Strategies for At-Promise Students
Presentation Slides
Coronado A
One of the biggest challenges to understanding longitudinal outcomes of alternative educational pathways is long-term engagement. But the same life challenges that push students away from mainstream schools can make it hard to maintain stable contact after they leave a program — even if their lives are much better off as a result of their participation. There has been little research dedicated specifically to the question of how to best facilitate long-term engagement of former participants of schools and programs for at-promise students. There is a tremendous wealth of knowledge, practice and research, however, that can be gleaned from other programs aimed at providing a social benefit to individuals and maintaining longitudinal contact. The lessons that have been learned and practices that have been implemented by these organizations and researchers can be instructive. Matthew LaPlante, an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism and Communication at Utah State University and a Reaching At-Promise Student Association board member, will present eight strategies for improving long-term engagement.

Values and Decisions: A Blended Learning Approach
Janice Delagrammatikas, Theresa Swickla, Dr. Debra Sacks, Riverside County Office of Education
Presentation Slides 
Strand: Teaching and Learning Strategies for At-Promise Students
Coronado 4/5
Faced with the urgent need to address the social emotional learning (SEL) needs of our students, Come Back Kids (CBK) has developed a unique com­prehensive strategy for addressing those concerns served in an independent study setting.  CBK is a dropout recovery and preven­tion charter school operated by the Riverside County Office of Education.  Over 90% of our students are be­tween the ages of 18 and 24 and virtually all have experienced multiple ed­ucational, social, and emotional challenges that have affected their educational success.  Our goal was to provide a Tier one inter­vention that would improve retention and graduation rates as well as develop social capital with adult students and staff.   The development of the Values and Decisions Course in the on-line learning platform, blended learning model was the result.  Values and Decisions is a two-semes­ter elective course comprised of ten online learning modules.  It is a school-wide in­tervention funded in our LCAP ad­dressing State Priorities: Student Engage­ment, School Climate, and other Student Outcomes.  Our staff is evaluating the effects of student growth from pre/post surveys and comparing student attendance rates, retention rates, and enrollment in advanced courses by students who have completed the Values and Decisions on-line SEL course.

Results from the Colorado Alternative Education Campus Accountability Working Group, Recent Policy Changes and Next Steps Under ESSA
Jessica Knevals, Colorado Department of Education
1drv.ms/p/s!Ao5iDYjdZ3X3gSLg131gtDXe0k2JPresentation Slides
Stand: Implementing Effective Alternative Accountability Policies and Data
Tidelands
Colorado is ground zero for alternative accountability.  Hear what the Colorado Department has learned to develop new policies for Alternative Education Campuses (AECs) in Colorado and results from the recently concluded Alternative Education Campus Accountability Working Group.  Jessica will brief the audience on the AEC policy context in Colorado and invite audience interaction to inform their own state work.  This session will review Colorado legislation and discuss the AEC work group that resulted.  Jessica will discuss the creation of the work group, the topics that directly address AEC students in Colorado, and the work group’s final recommendations to the Legislature and the State’s Board of Education.  She will also discuss how the recommendations fared in the 2015-16 legislative session and how Colorado’s AEC policy will be modified going forward.  Jessica will discuss the implications of Colorado’s experience for ESSA.  

The State of Disconnected Youth in Los Angeles
Robert Sainz, Economic and Workforce Development Department
Presentation Slides
Strand: Workforce, Community and Post-Secondary Partnerships to Support Reengagement
Ballroom C
In 2012, Los Angeles Unified School District and the City of Los Angeles Economic and Workforce Development Department implemented a new systematic partnership approach, with the goal of reengaging the city’s 100,000 out of school youth.  The YouthSource System utilized a number of promising practices including LAUSD Pupil Service and Attendance counselors to review students' academic history and develop a referral and re-enrollment plan; co-locating educational assessment and referral with workforce supports and training, and in some cases with alternative schools; and piloting co-location of education assessment and referral at city-run FamilySource centers designed to connect families to wrap around benefits and supports.   Los Angeles has been thoughtfully collecting data and following student outcomes.  Learn what they’ve learned in their five years of operation.


10:30 - 11:30 am
Breakout Sessions II

Early Warning Systems and Alternative Accountability​
Carla Gay, Early Warning Systems for the PPS District; Korinna Wolfe, Multiple Pathways to Graduation at Portland Public Schools​
Presentation Slides
Strand: Teaching and Learning Strategies for At-Promise Students
Coronado A
An Early Warning System in a school district provides opportunities to look at key indicators or ‘signals’ to identify students who are at risk of dropping out. Once students are identified, the EWS uses multi-tiered student supports and interventions to interrupt the progression of dropping out. In an ideal system only 5% of students require a different setting or an individualized approach as a part of the intervention options to drop-out prevention. That 5% (and in some cases 55%) of students need their own set of multi-tiered supports and accompanying accountability metrics to ensure they are on a path to a successful future.
This session will address the intersection of an Early Warning System and dropout prevention/recovery accountability metrics. Participants will leave with a systemic understanding of how dropout prevention and recovery efforts should be a part of an overall Early Warning System rather than an isolated set of strategies removed from the traditional school system.

L-ACT (Literacy for Access to College and Texts): Utah Alternative High Schools College Readiness Partnership
​Dr. Nicole Pyle, Utah State University ; Sally Brown, Teacher Education & Leadership
Presentation Slides: 1drv.ms/b/s!Ao5iDYjdZ3X3gSQPoEnLt-CIO3g0
Strand: Workforce, Community and Post-Secondary Partnerships to Support Reengagement
Coronado 4/5
Participants will learn about a state-funded project to support alternative high school students to become college ready.  The Utah Alternative High Schools (AHSs) College Readiness Partnership is a collaboration between Utah State University and three AHSs in Utah to increase the number of underrepresented juniors and seniors who achieve ACT college-readiness benchmarks, read more proficiently, apply for college, and complete FAFSA by participation in ACT online tutorials, reading/content intervention sessions, college application and FAFSA events, and a college tour. The creation of an AHS State Leadership Team aims to improve AHS students’ college readiness by recommending effective strategies to prepare for and enroll in college, and developing an effective model for AHSs to implement for program sustainability.  In Spring 2016, we implemented this project at one pilot AHS.  In the Fall, the project will be implemented at three AHSs.  Preliminary data from the pilot project will be presented and discussed along with a review of challenges and successes currently being implemented in the three AHSs.
 
Accountability For California's Alternative Schools
​Paul Warren, Public Policy Institute of California; Russ Rumberger, California Dropout Research Project
Presentation Slides (Russ Rumberger); Presentation Slides (Pual Warren)
Stand: Implementing Effective Alternative Accountability Policies and Data
Tidelands
Public Policy Institute of California Researcher Paul Warren will present his findings on the ground breaking study - "Accountability for California's Alternative Schools.” About 12 percent of all California high school seniors attend an alternative school, but far fewer than half graduate. To improve outcomes and promote the success of at-risk students, the state needs a new approach to measuring alternative school performance. This PPIC report compares California's efforts with those of Colorado, Florida and Texas to provide useful directions for the next phase of alternative school accountability.  One of his findings sure to resonate with alternative accountability advocates is that the "four year graduation rate ... does not work as intended in the alternative school context." Hear why Paul concludes, "To improve outcomes and promote the success of at-risk students, the state needs a new approach to measuring alternative school performance.”  

Personalizing Instruction for At-Promise Students
​Jan Bryan, Renaissance Learning
Presentation Slides
Strand: Teaching and Learning Strategies for At-Promise Students
Ballroom C
SIATech continues to lead the way in changing the conversation about schooling from assessment for the purposes of sorting students to assessment for purposes of personalizing instruction; from assessments that lead students to proficiency toward standardized benchmarks to skillfully using assessment data to guide students to drive their learning. In this session, we apply the groundbreaking work of Todd Rose and his book, The End of Average, to our determination to personalize learning.  We begin with a new way to explore data—finding the jagged edges of talent within each learner’s data. Next we look Rose’s claim that traits are a myth. In doing so, we look at David Shenk’s book The Genius in All of Us. Shenk takes personalized learning to the molecular level; shattering what we think we know about nature, nurture, and learning. Finally, we look at how learning progressions coming into play at the end of average, where each learner walks a road less traveled.

11:30 am - 12:00 pm
Networking and Collaboration Time
Coronado Ballroom Foyer

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
RAPSA Awards Luncheon
Coronado Ballroom
Graciously sponsored by Renaissance Learning; Learn4Life

1:45 - 2:45 pm
Breakout Sessions III

Collective Impact and Unique Partnerships to Address Opportunity Youth Re-Engagement
​Dr. Linda Dawson, SIATech; Laurie Pianka, SIATech; Nicky Ramos-Beban, Opportunity Youth Academy ; Joseph Herrity, Opportunit Youth Partnership
Presentation Slides
Strand: Workforce, Community and Post-Secondary Partnerships to Support Reengagement
Coronado A
Come hear how a unique partnership between SIATech Charter Schools and Santa Clara County Office of Education came together to address student disengagement in Silicon Valley.  See how focusing on a clearly identified need and working together with local community support providers resulted in the creation of Opportunity Youth Academy.  Learn how combining organizational strengths, best practices, technology, and research- based programming has created an environment designed to re-engage students in a blended model that accelerates learning and is both “high -tech and high- touch.”

Deeper Learning
​Tony Simmons, High School for Recording Arts (HSRA)
Presentation Slides
Strand: Serving the Whole Student
Coronado 4/5
Are drop-out recovery and deeper learning mutually exclusive? We think not. Learn how a focus on strategies to help students master core academic content, think critically and problem solve, collaborate, communicate effectively, self-direct learning and adopt an "academic mindset" can more re engage, retain and prepare opportunity youth for college and careers. These and other related competencies will be explored from schools that have successfully adopted and used them and allowed students to graduate on validations and portfolios. One school that will be examined in particular will be the High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul, MN that was founded to re engage students who dropped out with a deeper learning focus. Learn how HSRA became a mentor school of the Coalition of Essential Schools and worked with the Hewlett Foundation to further awareness and implementation of deeper learning for at promise youth. 

Social Emotional Wellness for Educators-- How it Takes a Whole Adult to Serve the Whole Child
​Joelle Hood, Collaborative Learning Solutions
Presentation Slides
Strand: Serving the Whole Student
Tidelands
Our own Social Emotional Wellness is the best prevention/intervention tool that we can offer our students and colleagues, yet stress among teachers is on the rise. Over half of teachers in the United States, report severe stress in the workplace.  Research shows that this stress often leads to high absenteeism and turnover, and lowered efficacy in the classroom and longevity in the profession.  In this highly engaging workshop, the facilitator will explain the latest research on the neuroscience supporting Social Emotional Wellness and Mindfulness for educators, and take participants on an experiential journey to see how awakening their own attention and self-reflection will enhance their ability to create positive change within themselves, influence positive change on their school/district climate and culture, and enhance their ability to serve the whole child needs of each student.

SDUSD Reconnections: Helping Students Stay Connected
​Mia Funk, Gretchen Rhoads, Andy Trakas, Jennifer Coronel, San Diego Unified School District
Presentation Slides
Strand: Workforce, Community and Post-Secondary Partnerships to Support Reengagement
​Ballroom C
San Diego Unified School District’s newest department, The Department of Reconnection is comprised of Dropout Prevention, Children, and Youth in Transition, SANDAP, Adult Education, and ALBA Community Day School. This innovative new team has been charged with creating and supporting all students find their most successful learning environment. By partnering with community agencies and providing specialized learning environments which focus on building strong relationships and meeting a young person at their “point of need,” we are able to ensure stronger connections to school. It is that strong connection to school and to caring adults which allows students to thrive.

3:00 - 4:00 pm
Breakout Sessions IV

Alternative Accountability Measures for Transfer Schools in New York City
​Lisa DiGaudio, New Dawn Charter High School 
Presentation Slides
Strand: Implementing Effective Alternative Accountability Policies and Data
Coronado A
Learn about New Dawn’s work as a charter school with alternative cohorts and reengagement strategies with NYSED and the NYCDOE School Quality Snapshot. Study the consequences of working with alternative accountability measures that do not meet federal standards for graduation. Hear about New Dawn’s approach to open enrollment and to delivering dynamic instruction and individualized support.  This session will include group discussion to share their experiences with policymaking for alternative accountability by exploring any ground been made in attendees schools to give transfer school students better measures? Attendees will be invited to share their experiences and celebrations on making accountability measures work.

An Evidence Base For Expanding Services to Disconnected Youth
​Jonathan Zaff, Executive Director, Center for Promise
​Presentation Slides
Strand: Workforce, Community and Post-Secondary Partnerships to Support Reengagement
​Coronado 4/5
As of 2010, more than one million 16-to-19 year-olds (6%) in the United States were classified as disconnected youth.  Being disconnected places a burden on individual youth and on the broader society. The combined lifetime social and fiscal cost has been estimated to be equal to $1 trillion for a single cohort of disconnected youth. The disconnection rate has declined from a high of 14% 40 years ago, with possible reasons for improvement including efforts to improve high school graduation rates and increases in funding and programming focused on disconnected youth, such as through the Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act, Job Corps, and Youth Build.  Join America’s Promise Alliance researcher Jonathan Zaff as he provides a research-based alternative perspective for why the disconnected youth rate has improved: people. His research shows that the adult capacity in the community and the supports that these adults provide can put more young people on a positive pathway to adult success.  Jonathan’s research is particularly relevant to advocates for the expansion and strengthening of youth-focused neighborhood assets – like dropout recovery schools, job training – and increasing the overall community's capacity to support its young people.   
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Can an Alternative Accountability Framework be Customized, Rigorous, and Mutually Agreed Upon?
​Jim Griffin, Jody Ernst, Momentum Strategy & Research (MSR); Seth Schoenfeld, ROADS Charter Schools
Presentation Slides
Strand: Implementing Effective Alternative Accountability Policies and Data
​Tidelands
Learn what’s possible when schools, districts, and charter authorizers are committed to rigorous, customized accountability, and state policy gives them the latitude to make it happen. Over the last few years Momentum has worked with a number of alternative schools and their district and/or charter authorizer to develop a framework of accountability that is arrived at with a culture of collaboration and consensus combined with the best available data to inform and support the parties’ objectives. This session will identify key steps in the process of developing trust and collaboration between alternative schools and the organizations that are responsible for holding them accountable, and will also show some of the outcomes from that work. This will be a panel discussion including leadership from both an alternative school and a charter school authorizer—each sharing their thoughts and experiences working through this process.

Training for Trauma Informed Systems
​Amy Lansing, University of California, San Diego​
Presentation Slides
Strand: Serving the Whole Student
Ballroom C
A range of stressful situations impact our students’ school readiness and academic functioning (e.g., homelessness, parental incarceration, teen pregnancy, truancy). Data from education systems and government commissions illustrate that insufficient support for principals; professional development for all staff; and rewards for skills are core issues underlying professional attrition, with students’ stress-related needs and behaviors posing challenges to the resources available to education systems. Trauma Informed Systems have the potential to address many of these student, teacher and staff needs but may also be perceived as burdensome or met with resistance.  This presentation will address: 1) the key elements required to develop and maintain a Trauma Informed System; 2) why “soft skills” matter as much for educators as students; and 3) what types of knowledge transfer are most beneficial for professional development.  There will be time for small group brainstorming on key challenges identified by the audience as facing Alternative Education providers.

4:15 - 5:15 pm
Conversation Sessions

An Interactive Dialogue About Meaningful Metrics for Schools Serving At-Promise Youth
Leonard Paul, Pacific USA, AdvancED
Presentation Slides
Strand: Conversation Sessions 
​Coronado A
Join the conversation with AdvancED, an international school improvement and accreditation organization, in an interactive session on the needs of schools serving critically at risk students and how such organizations can support schools serving at promise students.  AdvancED provides a range of services and programs for school improvement leading toward increased student engagement. Share your perspective on how service providers can support schools and teachers who work directly with programs for critically at risk students.  

Orchestrating a Continuum of Partnership Voices so ALL Students Succeed
​Amy Schlessman, Arizona Alternative Education Consortium; Kathleen Chronister
Presentation Slides
Strand: Conversation Sessions 
​Coronado 4/5
Engagement to re-engagement is a continuum from dropout prevention to dropout recovery.  From sound bites to sticky stories, learn to advocate by sharing student successes and accountability data that leads to effective policy and equitable funding.  Join us as we share the National Alternative Education Association’s (NAEA) and RAPSA’s letters to US DoE about the proposed ESSA regulations.  “Translations” of research data from previous AAPFs and national legal policy conferences illustrate how to communicate effectively our message to state boards of education, legislators, and other policy makers.  Bring your own effective advocacy piece to share during this interactive session.

Reengagement Citywide Strategies Spreading
Andrew Moore, National League of Cities Director of Youth and Young Adult Connections
Presentation Slides
Strand: Conversation Sessions 
Tidelands
Andrew Moore, has captured many of the issues and challenges facing cities and their partners that strive to provide a portal to re-engage out of school youth.  This session will focus on the dozens of coordinated citywide efforts to re-engage out-of-school youth on positive educational pathways.  The session promises an understanding of results to date, as well as a sense of the variety and continuous improvement and innovation underway.  Andy will cover the impressive early accomplishments of re-engagement efforts in several cities, provide practical advice for those seeking to launch or formalize local re-engagement programs, and describe how re-engagement at scale could help solve the crisis of unfulfilled potential represented in America’s millions of young people without high school diplomas.

Training for Trauma Informed Care
Amy Lansing, University of California, San Diego​
​Presentation Slides
Strand: Conversation Sessions
​Ballroom C 
Join the conversation about providing sufficient support and professional development for all staff to address trauma among at promise youth.  Learn how Trauma Informed Systems training can address professional attrition and support resources available to education systems.


6:00 - 7:00 pm
Evening Reception
Coronado Ballroom Foyer
Graciously sponsored by Collaborative Learning Solutions; SIATech

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29

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 7:15 - 8:15 am
Breakfast
Coronado Ballroom

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8:30 - 9:30 am 
Breakout Sessions V

Teaching Student Safety in CTE Programs
​Robin Dewey, Labor Occupational Health Program, UC Berkeley
Presentation Slides
Stand: Workforce, Community and Post-Secondary Partnerships to Support Reengagement
​Coronado A
Preparing students for successful careers is an important role schools have played through their career technical educational programs. But often first jobs are hazardous and consequently youth are injured at work at a higher rate than adults. Gaining health and safety skills before entering the world of work can help give youth the tools they need to protect themselves. This session will provide an overview of the essential health and safety skills all workers need to stay safe. Fun, interactive activities for teaching these skills will be presented. These activities are part of a free curriculum for schools that was created by the Labor Occupational Health Program (LOHP) at UC Berkeley and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).  

Seizing the Moment - Student Centered Learning for At Promise Youth
​Bob Rath, Linda Dawson, Tony Simmons, RAPSA 
​Presentation Slides
Strand: Teaching and Learning Strategies for At-Promise Students
​Coronado 4/5
RAPSA Board Members Bob Rath, Linda Dawson, and Tony Simmons presented their study, "Seizing the Moment" at a Congressional Briefing in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2016.  Join them to hear about how student centered learning is a powerful tool for serving at promise students. Learn what you can do in your state to advocate for policies that will expand the success of competency-based learning. Find a copy of the report here.


A Comparison of Promising State Trends in Implementing ESSA
​Jennifer Brown Lerner, American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF)
​Presentation Slides
Strand: Implementing Effective Alternative Accountability Policies and Data 
Ballroom C
This session will outline the opportunities under ESSA to support the development and growth of high quality alternative options to meet the needs of all students in a variety of school settings.  In addition, it will share early trends from an ongoing effort to understand and catalogue how states are handle accountability for alternative settings.


2015 NWEA Norming Study for Alternative Schools
Jody Ernst, Momentum Strategy & Research (MSR)
Presentation Slides
Strand: Implementing Effective Alternative Accountability Policies and Data
​Tidelands
Dr. Jody Ernst of Momentum Strategy & Research will present the findings from an updated norming study on student performance and growth, using the NWEA assessments. In addition, Dr. Ernst will present the first ever school-level norms for NWEA RIT growth. School-level norms will help alternative schools to set rigorous and realistic targets for both internal and external accountability purposes. Attendees that use NWEA for measuring student skill and growth should not miss this session. 


9:45 - 10:45 am 
Breakout Sessions VI

Alternative Accountability Toolkit​
Christopher Mazzeo, Education Northwest; Mathew Eide, Education Northwest ; Jacob Williams, Education Northwest
​Presentation Slides (Mathew Eide)
Stand: Implementing Effective Alternative Accountability Policies and Data 
Coronado Ballroom A
Receive an alternative accountability toolkit based on work Education NorthWest has done with school districts and states in the Northwest. The toolkit includes templates and guidelines for developing and implementing accountability systems that reflect the complexity of alternative programs. The Session will also address considerations for multiple measure accountability under the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Session attendees will have an opportunity to provide feedback on the toolkit that will be used to inform and improve the next iteration.

Creating a Family Culture in an Alternative School Setting
​Tessa NIcholas, Natasha Vinakor, Tramischa Cole, Civicorps
Presentation Slides
Strand: Workforce, Community and Post-Secondary Partnerships to Support Reengagement
​Coronado 4/5
Learn about Civicorps’ continuous improvement since its inception in 1983.  Through open dialogue with the young adults they serve, their focus now includes robust support services, enhanced academic content relevancy, and all staff training in Trauma Informed Care and implementation of Restorative Justice.  A current Walter S. Johnson funded 3-year study of their work with Foster Youth, has allowed further development of program components with a lens on supporting those impacted by involvement in the foster care system and other reengaged young adults.  Ongoing conversation and commitment make all these pieces fit together to build the family dynamic Corpsmembers speak of while maintaining program integrity and accountability.

What Should Legislators Spend for Effective Dropout Recovery Programs?
Russ Rumberger; California Dropout Research Project; Robert Miyashiro, School Services of California
​Presentation Slides (Robert Miyashiro); Presentation Slides (Russ Rumberger)
Strand: Serving the Whole Student
​Tidelands
Join with two of California’s highly regarded education experts in an exploration of what can be done to support adequate dropout recovery efforts.  This interactive session will: describe the costs to individuals and states of those who drop out of high school; explore how California funds high school programs and the limits on at risk populations; the needs of opportunity youth beyond a high school diploma; and a look at the practical and political implications of developing programs with significant impacts on state budgets.   The presenters look forward to hearing the ideas and experiences of education leaders from across the Country.  Walk away with a framework for approaching the adequate funding of dropout recovery.
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Independent Study Can be a Successful Option for Alternative Students
Machele Kilgore, Pacific Coast High School, Orange County, CA
Presentation Slides
Strand: Teaching and Learning Strategies for At-Promise Students
Coronado ​Ballroom C
Learn about different Independent Study models and how Independent Study programs and schools can be successful options for K-12 students who are at-risk. Machele Kilgore has been an administrator and involved in a variety of programs for at-risk students for the last 25 years.


11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Closing General Session
​Building A Cohesive Voice for Alternative Accountability
Jennifer DePaoli, Civic Enterprises; Jennifer Brown Lerner, America Youth Policy Forum; Russ Rumberger, California Dropout Research Project; Ernie Silva, SIATech. 
Coronado Ballroom
Presentation Slides
Be sure to join us for the 2016 Closing Session which will provide an opportunity to strategize about ways to impact National and State accountability policy.  The adoption of ESSA brings a fresh perspective for refining accountability policies for those serving vulnerable populations and recognizes sustained momentum focused on opportunity youth.  Join representatives of American Youth Policy Forum, Civic Enterprises, the California Dropout Research Project and RAPSA to learn about new opportunities and gain insight into past barriers to alternative accountability needs.  Gain insight into some of the data challenges nontraditional schools and students present to researchers, advocates and policy makers.  Help build a consensus to encourage best practices for data collection and useage.  Learn how to frame the alternative accountability conversation to ensure policies are flexible, responsive, and useable for alternative settings. 

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