Giving Compass' Take:

· According to Education Dive, new research from Boston College shows that comprehensive support for K-5 students can prevent students from dropping out in the future. For students in elementary school, comprehensive intervention is an effective way to address outside barriers blocking the pathway to graduation.

· Why is it important for schools to provide support for students in their early years? What other methods can schools implement to prevent students from dropping out?

· Learn how comprehensive support is improving ESSA plans.

The GradNation report released Thursday shows that schools still struggling with low graduation rates are predominantly in high-poverty districts and serve large proportions of students of color. The authors of that report also note that the challenges those schools face “are not confined within the walls of the school, but are shaped and heightened by the challenges faced by the school district and community in which they are located.”

City Connects — now also in schools in Springfield and Salem, Massachusetts; Hartford, Connecticut; Dayton, Ohio; and New York City — is different from most interventions that target students who are already struggling academically or getting in trouble. The City Connects coordinator takes a universal approach, reviewing the data on every student then working with partners to tailor services and opportunities to each student and family. The study notes that issues preventing students from being successful don’t always show up as “red flags,” and Walsh noted: “Some students are quiet dropouts, meaning they may not be identified as being at-risk in usual school settings.”

Read the full article about comprehensive support by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive.