Massena curriculum director says there is no correlation between graduation rate, alternative education

Jun. 22—MASSENA — During an April presentation about the history of the alternative education program in the Massena Central School District, board of education member Kevin F. Perretta wondered if there was any correlation between the program no longer being offered and the graduation rate.

Not really, said Stephanie L. Allen, the district's director of curriculum, instruction and assessments. She said she could find no data that supported any relationship between alternative education and graduation when the program existed.

"I tried everything I could to find a subgroup of a poverty group or our Native American or our students with disabilities. I tried to find something because I wanted to share with you something that I do with our teachers when we look at data. I stand before you and I say there is no science that supports the alt ed program in the data," said Ms. Allen, who was attending her final board of education meeting before retirement.

The alternative education program was eliminated during a tough 2012-13 budget year, when cuts were being made throughout the district.

Ms. Allen said that her data over the past few years indicated that the district had an average 82% graduation rate, although it was 83% last year.

"We ebb and flow, and we're about at that 82%," she said.

However, Ms. Allen said, that means 18% of Massena Central School students aren't reaching the graduation stage.

"What we need to take away from this is the following — 82% of the largest district in the north country is graduating at Massena Central, so we need to celebrate that, right? There's positives there. But what we need to know is where's that 18%. If we were to bring back that program, is there data that supports during that time that the program was going on that we indeed saw a higher level of graduation rate? I have never stood in front of you in six years and been dishonest about any data and I will never do that, and I will end now saying there is no data that supports that," she said.

"There's two things that happen when you look at data. There's what's called the science of the data or the science of teaching. Then, there's the art of teaching or the art of data," she added. "I stand before you today and I say there is no science that supports the alt ed program in the data. Your data is telling you you're at 82% and I can pretty much hang my hat on it as I step out the door. You're going to be pretty close to that next year."

She said there were likely contributing factors to the graduation rate.

"It is the first time in all of the six years I've been here that we have tripled the number of students who are in residential placement, meaning they are going to facilities for mental health for well-being. We had quadrupled the number of students that are being home schooled, and many of those are from anxiety. We need to do something different or the data is telling you that you will be about 82%, which can be celebrated, but it's not that 18% that we're saying, 'How can we get a couple more?' That's your data," she said.

Mr. Perretta said he looked at the data and agreed with Ms. Allen, but was concerned about the students who didn't graduate.

"As I thought about the idea of the graduation rate, we've lost 18%. There's about 18% that are falling through the cracks. I wonder, would we be better served to look at the dropout rate? ... I just think it's so important to our own future because who is likely to stay here and re-populate the school in our community at the end of the day?" he said. "So I think it's so important to focus and put the resources in there and not let them fall through the cracks."

He said it might prove useful to examine how many students are lost each year and at what grade level.

"Maybe that's where the drill down is. It says where you need to put the resources. Did you lose them in eighth grade? Did you lose them at seventh grade, ninth grade, 10th grade, whatever it may be? How do you empower the students to not let the other students fall through the cracks? Is there any way to do that from a student's perspective or to put out some sort of challenge at each class? How do you get some involvement at that level?" Mr. Perretta wondered.

Logan Dobbins, the outgoing student representative to the board of education, suggested one way to solve the problem would be to target mental health-related awareness and issues.

"I know it's an issue in our district and I know we need to find a way to solve it. It's a way to solve it right now, and we have the funds as a district to put in into play," he said.

Superintendent Patrick H. Brady said the pandemic played a role in student performance.

"Every school has a team that looks at those students and looks at them for retention or looks at their attendance issues. We've had attendance challenges ... and we've got to overcome the pandemic because of lot of students who tuned out during the pandemic are now your attendance problems and we have to get beyond that and bring back getting them back into school," Mr. Brady said.

"But they're also the same students that we're looking at for mental health issues, and we've added social workers to work with them," he added. "They're also the students who are on your AIS (Academic Intervention Services) case load for ELA (English Language Arts) and math, which we've been putting interventionists in to try to get them back from tier three down to tier one and not up to special ed."

He said the district is also trying to start a technology program through the Board of Cooperative Educational Services for students in grades nine and 10 "that connects those kids."

"The graduation rate in BOCES is 90s. That's like 93%. So, if you can get them to there, then you're going to have a better chance. But, it's that ninth and 10th grade where we know that they start to hit that wall and they can't pass some of their classes and they start to do other things that become a barrier to their success, their learning style," he said.

Outgoing board member Loren J. Fountaine suggested offering adult education programs through the district's Community Schools, in which students work with local businesses that need workers and can't find adults with the necessary skills.

Board member Patricia F. Murphy also suggested an elementary version of mentoring programs like Link Crew at the high school and WEB (Where Everybody Belongs) at the junior high.

"It's very effective because you're linking a younger person with an older, more experienced person and I've seen it help both of them. I've seen the older student become a mentor and then become much more self-assured and a greater leader. Then, I've seen the person that they've mentored also show growth," she said. "If they have somebody in the school that they can relate to, who shows an interest in them, sometimes that's enough to keep them engaged."