The high school allotment

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In May 2006, the Texas Legislature passed a measure to fund an initiative to help prepare and graduate all Texas students from high school. Your high school allotment funds can be used for:

• College readiness programs to prepare underachieving students for college.
• Programs that encourage students toward advanced academic coursework.
• Programs that give students opportunities to take academically rigorous coursework, including four years of mathematics and science.
• Programs that align the curriculum for grades six through 12 with post-secondary curriculum.
• High school completion and success initiatives in grades six through 12 approved by the commissioner.

How IDRA can help you

• Identify and implement dropout prevention and college readiness models with proven success.
• Build capacity to increase academic rigor and raise student achievement in mathematics and science.
• Provide tailored professional development that goes beyond "one-shot" workshops to build capability, particularly in the areas of mathematics, science and for English language learners.
• Evaluate new practices and results for accountability and continuous improvement.

IDRA three-day "Graduation Guaranteed" planning process
IDRA’s Graduation Guaranteed plan is designed to create educational opportunities for English language learners and other underserved students and to better prepare students to succeed in college and the world of work. It includes:

• Analyzing data to inform the planning process.
• Conducting a needs assessment around a set of general educational risk factors that are highly predictive of dropping out.
• Studying education-related factors that contribute to increased graduation rates and readiness for college.
• Building a shared understanding of all stakeholders as to the rationale for introducing changes.
• Identifying the impact that your school proposes to see after one, two and three years; start with the end in mind.
• Constructing a logic model that explains the inputs, activities, benchmarks and expected results. This logic model is essential to communicate, develop ownership and be instrumental in creating an evaluation and accountability system.
• Exploring the world of research-based school practices that address specific student populations and selecting and adjusting those practices to your context and needs.
• Selecting and phasing in practices that support major objectives of the plan.

Technical assistance possibilities
Support your dropout prevention and school holding power planning efforts with an IDRA action plan for the next three years that can include:

• Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program
• Building an Early Warning System to Revisit and Improve School Practices
• Increasing Students’ Readiness for College
• Partnering with Your Community and Parents
• Creating a Committed and Supportive School Culture
• Math Smart!
• Science Smart!
• Engagement-Based Sheltered Instruction
• Evaluation

Who will benefit?
These training packages are designed to help school administrators and teachers improve student success and create educational opportunities for English language learners and other underserved students and to better prepare students to succeed in college and the world of work.

The Texas Education Agency has indicated that it will require separate accounting in the same manner as other allotments. TEA rules for implementation are pending, and the agency has stated: "Districts should closely adhere to the language in Section 39.114. Districts/campuses may fund effective high school completion and college readiness programs that have been successful."