Diploma Plus
Encyclopedia
Diploma Plus is an American non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 whose mission is to improve graduation rates and post-secondary options for over-age and under-credited urban youth. The Diploma Plus model has been implemented in five geographical regions across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

History

Diploma Plus was developed by Commonwealth Corporation in 1996 as a response to the alarmingly high drop out rate and barriers to post-secondary success for urban youth of color, and the inadequate supply of high quality alternatives to traditional high schools
Secondary education in the United States
In most jurisdictions, secondary education in the United States refers to the last six or seven years of statutory formal education. Secondary education is generally split between junior high school or middle school, usually beginning with sixth or seventh grade , and high school, beginning with...

. In 2003, Diploma Plus became part of the Association for High School Innovation, formally the Alternative High School Initiative.

Since its launch in 1996, Diploma Plus has grown from a 100-student pilot at two sites in Boston, MA to an organization that, in 2009-10 enrolls over 3,400 students at 29 alternative high schools across the country.

Operating model

Each Diploma Plus school is required to implement Four Essential components:
  1. A performance based system that includes competency-based assessment and performance-based promotion
  2. A supportive school culture that intentionally creates positive relationships among students, staff and parents/families
  3. A Future Focus that provides post-secondary education preparation, career preparation and civic engagement
    Civic engagement
    Civic engagement or civic participation has been defined as "Individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern."-Forms:...

     opportunities
  4. Effective internal and external capabilities to successfully implement the DP model .


Diploma Plus schools are generally much smaller in size and generally serve students who are beginning to age out of the traditional school system. Rather than grade levels, Diploma Plus students are placed into and promoted through three phases: foundation, presentation and plus. In each phase, students learn content and skills at an appropriate level, regardless of their age or previous credit accumulation .

Most sites in the Diploma Plus Network offer a three to four year program or study, and are either small, alternative high schools run by districts
School district
School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...

 or are charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...

s. Other Diploma Plus sites are district-supported alternative programs or programs implemented by community colleges
Community colleges in the United States
In the United States, community colleges are primarily two-year public institutions of higher education and were once commonly called junior colleges....

 in partnership with local school districts that serve students for shorter periods of time. Diploma Plus schools have the autonomy to uniquely design experiences that work for its student population's specific needs. An American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research report on the use of innovation in schools highlights this characteristic saying, "this means changing schedules, allowing for early-release time for working students, and using different kinds of teachers--all of which run up against traditional state and district rules" .

Educational impact

More than 83% of DP students are African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...

/Hispanic; more than 74% are eligible for the federally-subsidized meal program
National School Lunch Act
The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act is a United States federal law signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1946. The act created the National School Lunch Program , a program to provide low-cost or free school lunch meals to qualified students through subsidies to schools...

. Students are accepted regardless of prior academic record, conduct, or socioeconomic background. When compared to schools with a similar student population, Diploma Plus schools tend to have higher attendance rates, retention rates and passing rates on state tests. According to Vicki L. Phillips, Director of Education and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Diploma Plus does this by "making academics more relevant and maintaining college-ready standards...for its students"

The Diploma Plus model has gained support as a dropout prevention program in several states and even at national level. In his pre-election Plan for Lifelong Success through Education, President Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 included Diploma Plus as one of two “Evidence-Based Models to Help Students Graduate”. Diploma Plus has also been endorsed by the American Youth Policy Forum and the National Dropout Prevention Center, which called it a "model" program .

Diploma Plus' dropout prevention model has also gained the attention of several states known to have notoriously poor graduation rates in their urban centers. The program was named a New Effective School Option in the National Governor's Association, "Achieving Graduation for All: A Governor’s Guide to Dropout Prevention and Recovery" . Shortly after, in an article written by Gregory A. Ballard
Gregory A. Ballard
Gregory A. Ballard is the Republican mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. On Tuesday, November 6, 2007, he defeated two-term incumbent Democratic Mayor Bart Peterson by 51% to 47%. It was described as one of the biggest upsets in the political history of Indiana.-Background:Ballard was...

, Cory Booker
Cory Booker
Cory Anthony Booker is the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Booker is a former Newark City Councilman...

 and Karl Dean
Karl Dean
Karl Foster Dean is the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. He was sworn in on September 21, 2007. From 1999 to January 9, 2007, Karl Dean served as Nashville's Director of Law under Mayor Bill Purcell. In 1990, 1994, and 1998, he was elected the...

, respectively, the mayors of Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

, and Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, Diploma Plus is identified as one model selected to partner with the public school system and focus on dropout prevention and recovery during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school year.

External links

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