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Tuesday, July 21, 2015

OnTrack Greenville: One Community's Initiative to Impact At-Risk Middle School Students

Greenville County Schools, a PCG client, is initiating a community-wide project that strives to keep middle school students in Upstate South Carolina engaged in school and “on track” for graduation. A federal Social Innovation Fund grant has provided $3 million to jump start a partnership between the United Way of Greenville County, the Greenville Partnership for Philanthropy, the Riley Institute at Furman University, various nonprofit groups and Greenville County Schools to revolutionize one community's ability to help middle school students stay "on track" to graduate and help them build a successful future. One partner, BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life) is aiming to create change by helping schools and communities find innovative ways to expand learning time beyond the traditional school day and school year. Online learning is a great way for students and teachers to have learning opportunities outside the classroom.

“Middle school is a time for students to explore their strengths and start to think about their future,” said Greenville County Schools Superintendent Burke Royster. “But, it is also a time when too many students start to disengage with school and take the first steps on the path towards dropping out of high school, putting their futures at risk.”

According to the United Way of Greenville's website, OnTrack Greenville is focused on implementing an Early Warning and Response System. Piloted effectively in other communities around the country, OnTrack Greenville’s Early Warning and Response System will utilize real-time data to identify students beginning to disengage from school as indicated by attendance, behavior, and course performance. Once a student is identified, a coordinated team of educators and community experts develop a customized plan to match the student with the right response interventions and then monitor his/her progress over time. To see an early warning and response system in action, watch the PBS Frontline special, Middle School Moment.

Pepper has a range of English/Language Arts and Math courses specifically for Middle School. These courses will help you engage your students with meaningful learning activities. You can check out all our courses at Pepperpd.com.

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