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Successful Dropout Prevention
Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program
The IDRA Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program is a research-based, internationally-recognized dropout prevention program that has kept 98 percent of its tutors in school.
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“Before I was a tutor, I didn’t care about my education and I had planned to drop out this year. Thanks to the
Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program, I know that studying is worthwhile and my grades are getting better.”
– middle school tutor |
“The Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program exemplifies IDRA’s asset-based approach. The program is based on the creed that all students are valuable, none is expendable,” stated Dr. María “Cuca” Robledo Montecel. “It has maintained a less than 2 percent dropout rate, which is an incredible legacy.”
The Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program, created by the Intercultural Development Research Association, is an internationally-recognized, cross-age tutoring program with an unusual twist. This dropout prevention program works by identifying junior high and high school students in at-risk situations and enlisting them as tutors for elementary school youngsters who are also struggling in school. Given this role of personal and academic responsibility, the Valued Youth tutors learn self-discipline and develop self-esteem; schools shift to the philosophy and practices of valuing students considered at-risk. Results show that tutors stay in school, have increased academic performance, improved school attendance and advanced to higher education.
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“The greatest ‘at-risk’ circumstance students face may be some school’s low, and self-fulfilling, expectations. The
Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program works and has proven that all students can succeed. It is part of the solution to assuring that all students are counted and all students count.”
– María “Cuca” Robledo Montecel, Ph.D.,
IDRA executive director |
Since its inception in 1984, the program has kept more than 30,600 students in school, young people who were previously considered at risk of dropping out. The lives of more than 690,000 children, families and educators have been positively impacted by the program. The program design is based on IDRA research on the dropout issue and school holding power. The program has grown across the United States and is presently in 16 cities in Brazil.
 Continuities – Lessons for the Future of Education from the IDRA Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program vividly captures seven key lessons for improving the quality of education for all students. In Continuities, readers hear the voices of youth, teachers, family members and program leaders and learn why valuing youth is at the heart of school transformation. Get more information. Available from IDRA or free as a pdf
Six Students Win National Essay Contest Award
Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program tutors wrote about how the program had helped them do better in school and how they had helped their tutees to do better. See the winning high school and middle school essays.
Join Our Fellows Networking Web Site
We are looking for former Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program tutors! The Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program has been in existence for 26 years, and we have created a free web site for former tutors to network with each other and to support each other in areas such as getting to college and employment.
Radio Show: Lessons from the IDRA Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program
The National Dropout Prevention Center/Network Radio Webcast featured IDRA’s Dr. Linda Cantu. Listen and learn about this assets-based approach to dropout prevention and discover key lessons learned in this award-winning cross-age tutoring program. The webcast site also includes links to the accompanying PowerPoint and other resources.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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