Student Engagement Services

With the knowledge that immediate intervention is the most effective, Zero Dropouts hosts a suite of Student Engagement Services.  All the following services are designed to capture students before they get lost or disengaged from the educational system. 

Student Engagement Specialist 

The Student Engagement Specialist engages or reengages students in risk of failure or dropping out and assists those students in finding the best school fit within the district.  To foster success, an in-depth analysis of the school and/or district’s dropouts over a minimum five-year time frame is required.   Zero Dropouts has halved districts’ dropout numbers via this service.   

Post-Secondary Advisor 

Zero Dropouts boasts up to a 5% increase in post-secondary enrollment with school and district partners through this position.  The Post-Secondary Advisor works with students to navigate the college process – from FAFSA and college applications through to matriculation and persistence.  The position is placed at a high school and collaborates closely with both high school counselors and staff and two and four-year college partners.  

Ninth Grade Intervention Specialist

The Ninth Grade Intervention Specialist’s role is based on research from the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago in 2006.  Analysis of course failures, attendance, and GPA produce the data needed to approach students in need.  The position then interacts directly with ninth graders to decrease the number of failures in the Freshman year.   

Attendance advocate

Attendance Advocates work to identify and assist students with attendance concerns by advocating for students, establishing and maintaining communication with families and school staff regarding attendance expectations, developing attendance contracts, making referrals to District and community resources, maintaining student and family contact logs, monitoring student attendance and grades, and mentoring students and families regarding attendance.

Course recovery specialist

Course Recovery Specialist's examine current course recovery practices in establishing and maintaining a course recovery lab in order to partner with students and staff to make a plan for recapturing credit. Course Recovery Specialists will guide students based on their individualized course recovery needs and progress monitor student completion of specific units/assignments that allow students to demonstrate necessary outcomes, recover associated credits and stay on track for graduation.