Program for High School Drop Outs

A New Dawn is a program which will help students who have dropped out of high school become members of society who will be more successful. It is our hope that with the implementation of this program that more students will be able to return to school to finish their education and learn vocational skills which will allow them to earn more, help provide for their families, and build better self-esteem.Participation should reduce the number of youth who are lured away by low-paying, entry-level obs and by other social entities that can defeat the positive attributes of their lives (i. e. gang activity, drugs, alcoholism, etc. ). With this program outline, it should be evident that we can work with the budget allotted and still provide the essential services to our target population; the young people of the community who need to be able to return to school. A new day is dawning; how will you make it a successful one? educational, vocational, and training services to many sections of the local population.They have been involved in the community for many years (undefined in he scenario) and have decided to face a new and dangerous challenge; the increased dropout rates of high school age teenagers in the area. With increasing economic strains because of Job loss, relocation of companies to other cities, and budgetary losses due to lower property tax revenues, the students in the area are being forced to look for work to help support their families. It has been an ongoing challenge for local schools to retain and recruit qualified teachers that can hold the interest of these students.Unfortunately, this means that education comes second in heir lives and they lose the motivation to continue to improve themselves. Our agency proposes a new and innovative approach to allow them to complete their high school education, gain new skills, and be better prepared to handle life's challenges as they present themselves. Statement of Opportunity We are a group of dedicated indi viduals who want to see the high school dropouts of today become self-sufficient, productive members of the community tomorrow by offering them the skills to begin a new Journey.Education, vocational skills, and training are the key to success; our plan is to make a seemingly impossible challenge nto success through hard work, perseverance, and the true spirit of belief in our fellow human beings to want to be better than they are today. Impact on Organizational Structure Vision in organizational program development is important because it gives hope and direction to all those who hold stake in a project; in this case, students, parents, educators, administrators, potential grant donors, community members, social services workers, and businesses in the area.An executive director's vision is crucial because it shows that they truly believe in the proposed program and that it will ucceed in its goals and objectives. Challenges present themselves every day; the true challenge is taking the problems and turning them into opportunities. The positive is far more productive than allowing others to wallow in despair and give up on the possibility of success. Reaching for the stars is unrealistic, but hope is a powerful motivator; my goal is to make that hope into a reality for the students who are often forgotten members of society.With any change within an agency, comes an mission, goals, objectives, and vision of any program. Structural changes must occur o allow for new programs to be implemented. Organizational mission, goals, and objectives may have to change slightly to reflect new aspects of the program being developed, but should pretty much remain the same. While all of these areas may be detailed, it is important not to make goals and objectives which are too expansive as it could cause the entire program to fold if not managed carefully.I can see where there may need to be some changes when incorporating youth into a program which may have been initially de signed to assist adults who have different issues. The new oals and objectives of this project must dovetail with existing agency directives because if they do not, they may cause unpleasant and potentially devastating changes to services already offered. Organizational planning may be need to be revamped to include the program in the short- and long- term plans. Any time changes take place within an organization; there will be changes in the planning.From development to implementation and beyond, new plans which influence current programs will have to be addressed. In this scenario, the implementation of a dropout program may require facility changes, changes in staffing, community utreach that has not been needed before, coordination with school officials, budgetary changes, and development of new funding sources. It will be important to keep in consideration the needs of current programs when developing new structure for this program so as not to damage already successful program s.Organizational operations will also need to change based on the needs of clientele, staff members, and facility availability. There will be a need for more space for classrooms, more instructors, and different equipment and materials; using the same materials for igh school age students may not be realistic in terms of safety. Costs will quite definitely increase as the demand for hands-on vocational learning becomes reality for this group of students, hours are extended, and new materials for classroom learning need to be purchased.Administrative staff and Board of Directors support will require a clear and accurate picture of how things will need to be altered in order for them to run effectively and efficiently. Human resources is an area that will clearly need to be given a lot of thought and creative thinking to best utilize the staff hat is already employed by our agency. It has been difficult for local school districts to hire qualified, motivated instructors to work with t his fairly specialized group.It is no easy task to work with students who have given up on the academic environment to search for work to support their families. The key to the success of this program is to grab their interest, give them the tools and resources to better themselves, and then help them to be successful in the outside world. Since we cannot offer extravagant salaries to these professionals, we must have more to offer them; the esire to help a group which is underprivileged and in desperate need of help in addition to fairly flexible class schedules may help convince them to come teach for this worthwhile project.In addition to this, formal classroom positions are being cut by all districts, so by hiring teachers who have been displaced and do not wish to relocate there is a benefit to all involved. Continued education may be necessary to ready these instructors for different types of students and teaching methods. Technological resources will need to be added or adapt ed to build this program and heir involvement, they may quit again which would defeat the purpose of the program.The project will require more computers and software for student use, new and safer machinery, improved software for administrative staff to be able to track, organize, and make formal reports of progress, budgets, and program usage. Because these students are high school age, the need for reporting to state agencies will be a requirement if this agency is to receive funding and the average daily allowance (ADA) for each eligible student; that money will be essential as the rogram grows and thrives.Training for staff members may be necessary to ensure that they have the required skills that have not been needed before. Financial resources are probably the largest challenge to making this opportunity a reality for this organization. Additional money will be needed to supplement the already lean budget of past years. Employing more teachers, counselors, trainers, and suppor t personnel will not be inexpensive; salaries and benefits are required to attract qualified individuals.A reward and incentive program will need to be developed ince salaries and benefits may not be as rich as many are used to in the educational industry. The number of eligible high school dropouts is expected to be 1,000 individuals with a rise to 2,000 each year after inception. The total funding for this program at present is $1,600,000, so until further funding can be acquired budgets will still have to run very lean. Accumulating needed materials and equipment can be done on a graduated need base so that not all of the finances are spent on these line items.It will be necessary to apply for outside grants from government agencies and other non-traditional options. Community Environmental Factors The local economy in the area is severely depressed because many companies are leaving the area for other cities; the loss of property and other tax revenue has caused local cutbacks i n services with significant impact on school budgets. When budgets are reduced in education, the first individuals who suffer are the students. Loss of teachers, materials, extra-curricular activities, and support staff markedly increase the dropout rate among teens.There are few choices for students other than to attempt to find work to help support their families; making school an mpossibility and limiting further success. Competition is a problem because students need to find work and will turn to businesses when they should be attending school. If the youth of this community feel that the needs of their families is too strong, they may forego returning to school; no matter how easy the road is made for them. They have to find value in furthering their education; our goal is to show them that there is a better life available through education and give them the skills they need to succeed.The employment market locally is not helping the situation; rather it is a hindrance. The mor e pressure exerted on the market, the more businesses will move out of the area because there is incentive to do so. As companies leave, property and other taxes drop which means less money is available for schools and other local services. The amount of teachers and support staff drops and students feel it is not worth their time to attend. Financial resources will always be limited, so the time is now to take advantage of loans and grants offered by the school district and government agencies.Applying for outside grants will need to occur, but without firm commitments they cannot be The risks that the agency will take will be directly correlated to the success of the program. If the project shows that it is successful, more money will be fed into its coffers. If the program is questionable or fails, money will be withdrawn which could seriously hamper current programs as well as the proposed program. In theory, this investment could make or break the organization which is more tha n likely working on a very limited budget in the first place.Adding additional staff and technical resources is expensive and if these people would have to be terminated because the rogram fails, there will be other separation costs associated; machinery and other items may have to be sold for a significant loss if they cannot be used in other programs. The benefits of this program to the community is that the teenagers who have given up on their education may return to school to learn more skills which will help them to find better paying Jobs in the future.By becoming more highly trained and better educated, it will be easier for them to find employment. The increase in the dropout rate from five percent to 15% is astronomical in Just two years and is nacceptable; something must be done to stop the bleeding! By developing and implementing a program which helps local youth, the status of this organization will increase; allowing more money to flow in for all programs and increase c ommunity support.This support encourages more students to see the value in returning to school because they can see the evidence of going through the program. Human Resources It will be important to hire new instructors, trainers, and more than likely some support staff to work with students and provide the administrative assistance to make this program operate efficiently and effectively. The one thing you cannot be short on is instructional staff to help students to learn the skills they need to be able to walk away with the ability to become productive members of the community.Because many school districts are cutting staff members, there is a surplus of unemployed or underemployed teachers and we may be able to secure some trainers from the private industrial sector on a part-time basis if they feel it will be to their benefit to have better trained employees. Our staff is truly one of the most important keys to the success or failure of this program; without them, there would e no way to make success a possibility. With staffing cuts, come reductions in pay for many school employees, so we will need to provide other incentives to attract qualified, motivated instructors.Paid time off, health benefits (at least partially covered by the agency), incentive rewards for number of students who perform well and/or graduate from our program, and other extrinsic reward systems will be implemented as the budget allows. Intrinsic rewards such as recognition by other staff members, community recognition, publication in journals to recognize the successes each member has worked hard to attain, and ven something as simple as a smile and a good Job from supervisory personnel will make a big difference in the way employees feel about their Jobs.As Executive Director, I personally will take this responsibility to make this happen and encourage others on my staff to do the same. The operating budget for this program is not large at only $1,600,000. It will take a great dea l of hard work to make this budget work and still have a successful program. With the help and dedication of our staff, along with positive support from community members, we can make it work. We will be applying for grants from theNational Education Association (NEA), California Teachers Association (CTA), government title grants (such as American With Disabilities Act (ADA)) funding, and other non-traditional grant donors. It is our hope that we can procure enough money to make this program operate smoothly and employ more staff members to encourage students to want to participate in a variety of programs. It is recognized that budgets will need to be increased each year because new students will be Joining established students in the program. It is estimated that for the first year there will be 1,000 eligible students and 2,000 each year after.If the program works well, we estimate this number will continue to grow as the individuals leave the program and find that their ability to find work at a better rate increases. As students hear that the program is working, they will want to participate more; word of mouth is by far one of the most important and cheapest methods of advertising.