Letter to Superintendents from TEA

September 17, 2007

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

SUBJECT: Survey of District Dropout Recovery/Reentry Strategies and Programs

The Texas School Dropout Prevention and Reentry Program (TSDPRP) is a federally funded initiative being implemented over a period of three years by leveraging existing resources, partnerships, and networks to form a more comprehensive approach to dropout prevention and reentry assistance statewide. While many effective dropout prevention and recovery programs and strategies exist in Texas, school districts often struggle with identifying and implementing effective programs for school reentry once students have dropped out of school.

To assist Texas school districts in their efforts to reinforce and expand existing dropout prevention and recovery programs and develop new and innovative approaches to reduce the dropout rate, increase high school completion rate, and better prepare students for postsecondary success through the TSDPRP, the Texas Education Agency has funded the Online Manual and Technical Assistance Services for School Reentry Programs project.

The Online Manual and Technical Assistance Services for School Reentry Programs project will create a user-friendly, easily accessible resource manual that will provide information, resources, and examples of effective school dropout recovery/reentry programs. It will also provide guidelines for districts to consider as they create model programs to serve the needs of students who are at-risk of not completing high school and those who have dropped out of school and are reentering. The manual will be available to schools, school districts, and other entities that provide services to students at-risk of dropping out of school, or to students that have already dropped out of school. The Texas Education Agency awarded this project to EGS Research & Consulting.

As a first step in developing the resource manual, EGS Research & Consulting will survey all Texas school districts to collect information on dropout recovery and reentry strategies and programs that your district and other districts use.

You will receive in the next seven to ten days a message from EGS Research & Consulting () with a link to the online dropout recovery survey. The message will ask you to complete the questionnaire or forward the information and link to an administrator or staff at the district level responsible for your dropout recovery programs who can complete the questionnaire.

Your response to this survey is critical and highly appreciated. Information obtained through the survey will be used to profile current practices regarding dropout recovery strategies, identify effective programs and best practices for further exploration and inclusion in the resource manual, and define needs for technical assistance.

If you have any questions regarding this survey, please contact Chris Caesar, Program Manager, Texas High School Project by e-mail at by phone at (512) 936-6434.

Sincerely,

Barbara Knaggs

Acting Senior Advisor, Office of Education Initiatives