While 82.8% of students in Alameda County graduate within four years, which shows an upward trend, we have a lower graduation rate than most neighboring Bay Area counties (with the exception of San Francisco County). While Hayward Unified has increased its graduation rate to 79.6%, only slightly lower than the County average, Oakland Unified School District disparagingly only graduates 60.5% of its students on time, a decrease in recent years. All other County school districts graduate above the County average rate. In addition, only 67.7% of black students graduate, and only 75.5% of Latino students.

ICPC staff convened County and School district staff from Oakland and Hayward to develop and prioritize the below strategies. The group recognized that, in reality, the best time to prevent students from dropping out is early in their educational career – even in Preschool and Kindergarten. Fortunately, ICPC has other Working Groups targeting those populations. The Work Group acknowledges the County's role in education is limited. However, there are many youth the County serves at ACOE and through Social Services and Probation who are among the most at risk for not graduating from high school. There are opportunities within these County systems to help prevent youth from dropping out. In addition, the group determined focusing on the school districts with the highest need will improve overall high school graduation rates. Work Group members are:

• Alameda County Probation Department
• Alameda County Social Services Agency
• Alameda County Health Care Services Agency - Center for Healthy Schools and Communities
• Alameda County Public Defender
• Alameda County District Attorney
• Alameda County Office of Education
• East Bay Children's Law Office

Pinpointing attribution/causation is an ongoing challenge. Because some children from families at highest risk of poor outcomes do indeed succeed over time, our combined efforts need to provide a range of support and/or reduce barriers in getting to the supports. Consider piloting with probationers and children and extending these resources in current neighborhood or school initiatives. Below is a list of strategies that can help turn the curve on high school graduation. The Work Group took this list and tried to determine what the County's role could be in some of them:

• Active Learning
• After-School Opportunities
• Alternative Schooling
• Career and Technology Education (CTE)
• Early Childhood Education
• Early Literacy Development
• Educational Technology
• Family Engagement
• Individualized Instruction
• Mentoring/Tutoring
• Professional Development
• Safe Learning Environments
• School-Community Collaboration
• Service-Learning
• Systemic Renewal

The High School Success Work Group determined three different areas where the County could make a difference in increasing the number of students who graduate on time. The following are interventions for older youth that are based on national best practices:

• Juvenile Justice Center (JJC) Post Release Strategy: The Transition Center at the JJC provides Oakland youth exiting the JJC with rapid re-enrollment in school and a select number of those youth receive post release Case Management services from community based organizations. Funding for this is made possible by the City of Oakland, Oakland Unite program and has shown reductions in recidivism. The Work Group proposes to expand this program to cover all youth leaving the JJC and to improve linkages between these students and the School Based Health Centers at their schools.
• 8-9th Grade Transitions: Best practices show that working with youth through transitions is one of the keys to high school success. The Work Group believes a targeted transition program that includes working with high risk 8th graders in the summer before high school and during 9th grade will decrease the likelihood they drop out. Oakland and Hayward school districts are targeted because they have the highest drop- out rates. The plans include a summer bridge program; leadership opportunities working with younger youth; parent and family involvement; paid internships and stipends in the health care fields (among others) and support throughout their high school years with coaches/case managers. Academic and career planning support will also be given.
• Training and Support on Trauma Informed Care: Another avenue for improving high school graduation rates is training school district teachers and staff in trauma informed care practices. The reasons for dropping out or not graduating on time are multifaceted. However, many youth suffer from current and past experiences that make attending school difficult. By providing teachers and staff with training in trauma informed care practices, they can better meet the needs of these students and help them in ways that will improve attendance and performance in school.