School-Related Factors for At-Risk Students

Factors Related to School Causing At-Risk Students

In the publication, Situations that Put Youth At-Risk, it identifies these factors as causing students to be at-risk:

• Conflict between home/school culture
• Clash of home/school values
• Ineffective discipline system
• Lack of adequate counseling
• Lack of relevant curriculum
• Passive instructional strategies
• Inappropriate use of technology
• Retentions/suspensions
• Disregard of student learning styles
• Lack of tactile/kinistetic learning
• Low expectations
• Inadequate teacher-preparation

All of these factors seem to be timeless and students who are at-risk benefit from having individualized instruction and active learning opportunities.  This is where online and blended learning can help.

In iNACOL's latest white paper, Using Online Learning for Credit Recovery:  Getting Back on Track to Graduation, the schools that are seeing the best success with their credit recovery program are utilizing learning centers where all of the students' needs are being met and are using programs that have both an on-site facilitator and an online facilitator.  This helps students receive the immediate feedback they need in regards to process and it also helps keep students on track.  The online facilitator can then be a resource when it comes to content-specific questions.

Kirkwood's High School Distance Learning program uses online facilitators to meet the highly-qualified teaching mandates.  In addition, schools that are using its resources are also encouraged to have an on-site mentor or coach for students to go to with questions.  This person can act as a liaison between the Kirkwood staff and the student, if necessary.

Schools that utilize holistic approaches to help students recover credits, see greater results than those who just throw them into computer-based software programs that have very little teacher involvement and do not prepare the student for college or careers.  By giving students the support of counseling, tutoring, and face-to-face instruction with teachers, the at-risk students are more likely to become more productive members of society and earn their high school diplomas.