Montevallo Dropout Forum
On Tuesday morning, October 8, 2011, several citizens from around Montevallo—including representatives from the City Council, the Middle and High Schools, local churches, the University of Montevallo, the Boys and Girls Club, and others—met together to discuss the dropout issue using Dropouts: What Should We Do? to guide their deliberation. The forum, held at the Parnell Memorial Library, was organized by Christi King the Library’s director. The lively discussion brought out many aspects of the dropout issue. Individualized achievement, Reading programs, “teaching to the test,” and community involvement emerged as the main themes of the deliberation.
After introducing themselves and relating what concerned them most about the dropout issue in Montevallo, participants talked through approach one, “Emphasize Achievement.” The group immediately condemned the approach as “elitist” and too narrow to effectively address the dropout issue. One lady then commented that achievement is not wrong, but that it must be tailored to each student’s needs and goals. The rest of the group concurred and suggested that creative options – such as opportunities to develop musical talents – allow students to achieve in non-academic areas, resulting in an increased interest in school. Many of the participants brought up the difficulties of implementing individually-tailored academic programs when teachers and administrators are primarily concerned with “teaching to the test.” This theme came up throughout the forum as one of the major hindrances to achieving successful, productive lives for every student..
The group transitioned into approach two, “Emphasize Preventative and Corrective School Programs,” by talking about programs the city has in place that address the dropout issue. The programs represented in the room, such as Upward Bound, a local daycare, and the Boys and Girls Club, all related their experiences with students from unique backgrounds or at-risk of dropping out. The students’ home lives and family situations were discussed in depth, and their impact on performance in school was acknowledged. Early childhood education and career tech opportunities for students were also emphasized as important aspects to keeping students in school. One woman’s assertion that reading for pleasure is the highest indicator for how students will perform on standardized tests grabbed the attention of the group. Forum participants then discussed various reading programs available in the city already and ways to increase their effectiveness. They also discussed the possibility of creating a reading program that would utilize reading mentors from the community to meet with one student every week to encourage them to read and achieve.
Approach three, “Emphasize Community Responsibility,” got the group thinking through ways it could develop and capitalize on underutilized resources within the community. Pre-existing cooperative programs between the University of Montevallo and the schools in Montevallo were highlighted as excellent programs that ought to be continued and expanded. Several participants mentioned the library and the Boys and Girls Club as examples of involvement by the community with the students of Montevallo. Several attendees highlighted the need for transportation for students whose parents will not/cannot bring them to after-school activities. The importance of involving more parents also arose. Some of the organizations involved with helping students in Montevallo require parental involvement for acceptance into certain programs.
The forum came to a close with participants still sharing ideas, stories, and contact information with each other while they filled out post-forum questionnaires. Many thanks to the library and everyone who came out for this portion of the statewide conversation on the dropout issue!
- Cristin Foster (DMC Assistant Program Director)
