Bloomingdale School leaders won’t let tough budget environment dissuade dropout prevention

About one-quarter of Bloomingdale High School’s students were failing to graduate on time.

That hardly made the small, Southwest Michigan school unique — schools across the nation are grappling with the dropout epidemic, after all.

But Bloomingdale school officials wanted to fight the issue head-on. And that was a problem — because they didn’t have any money.

In earlier — and better-funded — times, Bloomingdale might have considered opening an alternative high school, specifically designed to address the needs of at-risk students. That option was off the table from the start, but Principal Rick Reo was determined to find an answer.

Then he found NoDropouts.

The online education service provider’s promise seemed almost too good to be true: Its directors pledged to make dropout prevention and recovery a budget-neutral proposition for Bloomingdale. But Reo took a chance — and in the fall of 2009 his district began to help NoDropouts identify students who had dropped out of school or were in danger of failing out due to frequent absences.

In just two weeks, 87 percent of the district’s dropouts had re-enrolled.

"For some students – especially at-risk students – a traditional classroom education simply does not address their needs as learners," Reo said. The NoDropouts program is effective, he said, “because it does not ask who is most likely to drop out of school. It asks why students drop out — and then provides flexible solutions that can help students overcome their challenges."

And as for the budget? NoDropouts kept its promise. Bloomingdale was able to launch its dropout prevention and recovery effort with zero budget impact — and since the program re-enrolls students who previously were not participating, the district benefits from increased state funding, improved attendance and better graduation rates.

School leaders don’t have to give up in the face of economic adversity, Reo said.

"There's no question that it is a tough time for schools," he said. "Budget cuts, teacher shortages and overcrowded classrooms are just a few of the challenges that school districts nationwide are facing right now. But as we work to meet these challenges head-on, it's important that we do not lose sight of our primary goal as educators – to provide all students with an opportunity to receive a quality education."

Could your school district benefit from another set of dropout prevention and recovery options? We can help. Call us at 855-NO-DROPOUTS or send an e-mail to info@nodropouts.com