Canon-Mac Selected to Be Part of Program Aimed at Increasing Graduation Rate in PA

Canon-McMillan School District is one of five in the state selected to take part in Phase 1 of a program aimed at increasing the graduation rate in Pennsylvania by focusing on middle school students.      

The program is titled “Student Dashboard and Early Warning System,” and is being spearheaded by First Lady Susan Corbett as part of her Opening Doors Initiative.

Last week she led a forum at the Governor’s Residence where dozens of leaders in education and youth services—including Daniels—discussed ways to improve the graduation rate statewide.        

“As Phase 1 districts, we’re basically going to identify the most beneficial means by which the program can be utilized so it can be potentially rolled out to districts across the state,” the superintendent said.      

And he couldn’t be more thrilled that the district was selected to take part in the program—saying that information gleaned from this initiative could help ensure there are more “high school completers” in the district.      

For her part, Corbett said she launched the initiative a year ago, and has spent time traveling across the state meeting with school officials and observing intervention programs.       

“We are pleased to continue moving the initiative forward with the development of an early warning system in Pennsylvania,” she said in a release.      

The early warning system is being created through a partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Education and will assist in identifying  middle school students who are at risk of dropping out.      

The secure, web-based system looks at academic progress, attendance and behavior to determine who is at risk.        

The early warning system will also provide information about public and private-based-intervention services available to keep students on track to graduate. Corbett announced that the five Pennsylvania school districts will participate in the first phase of the early warning system rollout.      

Participating schools were chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.      
“The First Lady and the Department of Education’s joint efforts to facilitate and champion the development of an early warning system that the school districts of Pennsylvania can use will help keep thousands of students on the path to high school graduation and a better future,” Robert Balfanz, co-director of the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University said.      

The early warning system will be offered to schools free of charge. It is being funded by federal and private dollars. Team Pennsylvania Foundation is also providing support for these efforts.      

“Hopefully, this will help us take a more proactive stance to save some of these students and ensure that they graduate,” Daniels said.      

The other districts participating are Erie School District, Lancaster School District, Albert Gallatin School District and Harrisburg School District.

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