Students need early intervention

I found some irony, or perhaps, connection, of two prominent education articles Wednesday’s Dispatch (“Graduation ‘fix’ sent to legislators” and “Educating workforce is slow going”). The first article described alternative paths to graduation for students who do not meet Ohio’s current requirements, by giving “extra credit” for things like good attendance and good grades by the student, in an attempt to increase the percentage of attending students to graduate. The second article decried the slow progress of a grant program led by Columbus State Community College to get more adults some post-secondary education, among other metrics, with the intended result of a more competitive workforce.

These programs ignore the people behind these statistics. Young people are ushered through a rigid system of requirements for graduation, whether the system suits their interests or pursuits, with a list of requirements to graduate. How much individual pathway is developed for our students? How much listening is done to help the student take ownership of his or her education early in the educational process?

How much followup is done with counselors, mentors and student groups to help our young people work toward their goal of working adulthood? Funding should be going to organizing programs that help students find a pathway to a life after high school that allows them an opportunity to succeed. Programs should be designed to follow up quarterly or even monthly to openly discuss how the student is doing, whether the student is engaged, and what other pursuits should be explored.

Graduation statistics, and disappointing Central Ohio Compact results are just a reflection of a missed opportunity. Students need more than outcome metrics. They need engagement, feedback and follow-up, and they need to be heard before they are “too far behind.”

Work with the students, not with the numbers.

Kari Engen Columbus