Decatur City Schools Foundation Receives Boeing Grant to Impact Graduation Rates

Lisa Jones, DCSF; Daniel Beggs, Boeing; Jesslyn Reeves, DCSF; Don Snow, AHS

Boeing has awarded the Decatur City Schools Foundation a $55,000 grant to provide teacher professional development that will ultimately increase graduation rates and the college and career readiness of Decatur City Schools students.

Decatur City Schools (DCS) and its School Board have initiated a strategic plan that contains aggressive goals for increasing student achievement measured by data such as test scores and graduation rates. The Foundation supports this effort and is working with supporters such as Boeing to provide funding for programs that make a direct impact.

Connect: Finish Strong (CFS) is a dropout prevention program focused on enhancing teachers and administrators’ skills in data analysis, leadership, math, reading, and academic interventions; providing support of students identified to be at-risk of dropping out; and strengthening engagement of all DCS high school students.

In particular, the Boeing funds will be used to implement professional development for 225 high school teachers and administrators at Austin and Decatur high schools. The grant will fund training in data analysis, reading, and math.

The DCS system serves more than 8,600 students in Decatur, Alabama. The district is composed of 2 high schools, 3 middle schools, and 12 elementary schools. The current graduation rate is 86% and of the total enrollment, 67% qualify for reduced or free lunch and 57% are minority students (Source: Alabama Department of Education, https://www.alsde.edu/). Studies show that students in these demographic categories are at higher risk of dropping out of high school.

The importance and resulting impact of Connect: Finish Strong can best be demonstrated by looking at the numbers of lives to be improved. The program will immediately affect more than 2,200 students and 225 faculty members in the DCS high schools. More than 450 students will participate in the personalized intervention activities each year.

For more information on the Decatur City Schools Foundation and programs it supports, visit www.decaturcsf.org.

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