School Connectedness, The GRAD Partnership

To Solve Attendance Issues, Use Connections Not Suspensions

A recent analysis of data from a dozen states revealed that one in ten school suspensions between 2017-18 to 2021-22 were related to student attendance (for example, missing class). Whether students are truant, absent, or late, suspending students causes them to miss even more class time. With schools across the country facing record high rates of chronic absenteeism, this amounts to attempting to put out a fire with a torch.

Building School Connectedness for Student Success at Tulelake Basin High

Recently, the Rural Schools Collaborative Team, along with GRAD Partnership Intermediary North State Together (NST) had the opportunity to meet members of the leadership team working to improve student success and connectedness at Tulelake Basin High School in Tulelake, CA. Their efforts were led by Tara Wright-Baley, the school counselor and a former graduate of Tulelake herself.

Spotlight School: Johnson Central High School

Johnson Central High School was chosen as GRAD Partnership’s fourth spotlight school for its efforts to improve student outcomes by implementing a student success system centered on relationships and school connectedness. A rural high school in eastern Kentucky, Johnson Central struggled with…

September is Suicide Prevention Month

September 28, 2023 - In 2021, more than 40% of high school students reported feeling so sad or hopeless that they could not engage in their regular activities for at least two weeks during the previous year. Over 20% of teens reported having had serious suicidal thoughts. (CDC, 2023a)...