WEBVTT

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[Music]

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My name is Kasey McKee,
and I'm the project manager

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of a large dropout prevention
agency here on campus,

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which is at Davis High
School in Houston, Texas.

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What we see is for students to
stay on track with graduation,

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we really need a full
wraparound support

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from all team players
for the children.

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So basically, they have
good support here at school

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and then it is essential
for them to have

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that same support at home.

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We really do have a
total commitment as far

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as it's concerned developing
relationships with the families.

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This includes all Davis
staff: faculty, staff,

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added programs here at Davis,
principals, teachers, coaches.

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All work very hard to develop
relationships with most

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of our students' families.

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So what we try to do at
Davis is really pull them in,

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open the doors for them
to be here, educate them

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on what it takes for
a child to graduate,

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and have them feel empowered
to be part of that team.

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At Davis High School we
have a very open-door policy

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with families on campus.

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And so this looks like, we offer
several-at least two-parent

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nights throughout
the school year,

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where the parents are
invited to come to the school

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and meet their teachers.

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We also do events, like
have community dinners

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where we invite community
partners and family members

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and staff and faculty
and teachers

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and students to mingle together.

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We do a lot of parent
phone calls.

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We do a lot of e-mailing
back and forth.

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The parents will come visit
us, kind of impromptu very,

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very often in many of
our different offices

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and the different agencies
and the principal's office,

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etc. But in some situations, we
need to go to the child's home,

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such as if they have had
consistently low attendance,

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they have kind of been
flagged for their attendance;

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if they are missing
graduation requirements;

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or if the child has not been
attending school for a series

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of days or weeks or months;

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or if also the child has
not enrolled in school.

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So these families we
identify as having a youth

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at risk for dropping out.

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And so if necessary,
and when necessary,

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we will go visit the homes.

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This looks like a team of one or
two or three of us, principals,

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teachers, coaches, all kinds

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of school support
staff, truancy officers.

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And they will go to the
parents' home, in a polite way,

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and ask to have a
conversation with them

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about their child's schooling.

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What we'll see when we visit
the homes is it's a great way

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to get an immediate picture

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of what challenges the
student might be facing.

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So during these visits,
we will provide them

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with the tools they need, such
as looking at report cards

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or transcripts, or just evidence
of their child's performance

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and then educate them on what
the child needs to be successful

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and then how they can
become part of this team.

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By working with families
here at Davis,

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we see that we can remove
several barriers from graduation

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for our kids. So one is just
simply motivation.

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Sometimes the parents won't
have clear motivation;

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they don't know what to do to
support their child in school.

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So Davis can provide the
role of educating them

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on what their young person
needs to succeed in school

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and then eventually graduate.

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A barrier that complicates a lot

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of our Davis students' lives
is just general life events.

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Our families are probably
working two to three jobs,

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providing for several
children at home.

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They have limited time at home,

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especially during
daylight hours.

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They may not have
graduated themselves

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or have very limited education

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and just not be familiar
with the process.

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Our students, on the other hand,

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are dealing with several
life events as well:

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relationship issues, maybe
child abuse, homelessness,

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maybe just feeling
very disenfranchised,

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very low self-esteem from
low performance in the past.

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Also feeling suicidal, or
just not feeling positive

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about school,

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so by identifying-or
especially not having the items

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that they need to thrive
successfully in school,

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such as appropriate clothing
or sometimes having shoes

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or having transportation
to get to school,

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they have no one
to drop them off.

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So in these ways, we are able

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to strategize what are
the specific barriers

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with our parents and our
students and then work

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to remove those barriers
and provide incentives

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for the young people to
graduate and stay in school.

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[Music]