Designed primarily for school building administrators and educators, this resource provides research-based strategies and resources to locate and support school-leavers to return and work toward graduation.
The evidence-based strategies for re-engaging and supporting students with disabilities and their families through school completion were informed by the following research: National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (2011); Rumberger et al., (2017); Wilkins (2014), as well as NTACT:C resources and experience working in states and districts.
The document includes three parts, and each one includes research-based guiding steps, a deeper dive into additional information, and an opportunity for users to identify their own next steps. The three parts are:
- Part 1: Identify Who Is Missing
- Part 2: Re-Engaging Students
- Part 3: Continuing Ongoing Dropout Prevention
The steps and additional information reflect culturally responsive and sustaining practices, critical to working with the populations of most concern. The purpose is to support school- and district-level practitioners, families, and administrators in efforts to reclaim successful educational experiences for secondary students with disabilities and their families most negatively impacted by events since 2020.
Locating and Re-Engaging Secondary Students with Disabilities – Introduction (PDF)