Officials are crediting a fairly new program with reducing the
number of dropouts at Bradford Area High School
That program is the Time After School for Kids Program (TASK)
whihc has been in place for at least seven years.
Bradford High Principal Ken Coffman said Thursday the TASK
program seems to be helping in a number of ways, including less
need for potential drop out interviews.
“We were also doing a better job this year with intervention to
keep the drop-out meetings from occurring – there were fewer this
year,” said Coffman.
The TASK program offers core classes to students in early
evening hours, removing them from the overall population of the
school and allowing them to feel more comfortable about their
learning environment.
The Era conducted research recently through the Pennsylvania
Department of Education and discovered that in nine years,
beginning in the 1997-98 school year and ending with the 2005-06
year, the drop-out total has been reduced by at least 20
students.
In the 2001-02 school year, the drop-out total was at 82
students and there were numbers nearly as high before and after
then, but in the nine years, the average is about 52 students per
year. In 2005-06, 22 students were reported as drop-outs.
Whether or not any of those students returned to school since
then is not known.
Steve Mongillo, guidance counselor at the high school is the
coordinator for the TASK Program.
“The goal of the program is to have the kids brought back into a
regular school setting,” said Mongillo.
He said many of the students who find the need to participate in
the program are in it for a variety of reasons including finding it
difficult to transition into 9th grade from middle school. Mongillo
also said that some students need to work during the day and the
program offers them a chance to attend classes in the early
evening.
He added that some just find it difficult to manage the classes
and stop attending.
That is when they sit down with the student and their parents
and find out the student’s needs and try to find the best plan of
action to help the student.
“The bottom line is to keep them in school,” he said.
He added that even while they are students of TASK, participants
can take any other core classes or elective classes such as metal
shop if they desire.
Mongillo also said the students are still enrolled in the high
school as students and can participate in sports, clubs and other
activities offered at the school.
“They need to do the work but we can set them up for success,”
added Mongillo.
“And it’s a total group effort, it wouldn’t work without
teachers, parents, administration, students and the counselors,”
Mongillo said.
Coffman said the idea for such a program or some sort of
proactive effort to get kids involved in school and keep them there
has been in the heads of administrators for many years.
He said last school year was the first year that kids were able
to participate in the program through the whole year. He said
previously, it was only offered for the last 18 weeks of
school.
Coffman said the program is partially funded by a grant through
the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
“It can be such a success story for them. They didn’t give up –
to be able to walk across that stage,” he said. “Some maybe never
thought that would be a possibility.”
Coffman said they would like to see the program continue to
expand. He added that most of the teachers, those that teach
history, math, English, science and gym, are asked if they want to
participate because those students are served after the regular
school day in the evenings.
Hours are 3 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and Mongillo and
Coffman said students are still required to follow school and
classroom rules.
But Coffman said most teachers agree to do it each year with the
satisfaction of having helped a student feel more comfortable about
learning and fitting in to high school.
“It is gratifying for them to see the success of the students,”
added Coffman. “It draws them back.”
Mongillo said the teachers are critical to the program and they
have a lot of good teachers helping.
Online learning is available to the students, but teachers are
still in the rooms teaching them and take time to help students
with other instruction as well.
“Lots of these students feel pride in themselves, in their
school, and they get recognition,” said Coffman.
“There are a lot of things we do to keep kids in school,” added
Coffman.
Coffman also said the effort to keep students in school is a
district-wide effort, with many students receiving some of the help
they need before they even reach high school.
