Georgia's GraduateFIRST program has redefined the state's approach to raising graduation rates for students with disabilities with dramatic results-an increase of 37 percent in four years.
Click on the attachment below to access the Student Performance and Achievement (SPA) Prority Team Spotlight Brief which is intended to provide State Education Agency (SEA) and Local Education Agency (LEA) educators with a brief overview of the key components of graduateFIRST, a Georgia program targeting issues impacting school completion for students with disabilitites.
Webinar participants will hear how schools have redesigned programs, adopted new practices, and implemented research-based strategies to become highly successful in preventing students with disabilities from dropping out of school.
Click on the attachments to access the Webinar flyer, the presentation powerpoint and accompanying handouts.
Attachments are provide for Best Practice Forum (Feb. 2012) PowerPoint presentations and accompanying handouts.
The PowerPoint presentations and handouts for The 2011 Fall GraduateFIRST Institute are listed below. You can also find these as well as additional forms, including the Facilitator Guides for the DVD Training Series, on the website.
Georgia Department of Education
Division for Special Education Services and Supports
announces the
2011 GraduateFIRST Fall Institute
Central Georgia Convention Center
Forsyth, GA
September 26-27, 2011
9:00 AM-4:00 PM
GraduateFIRST school, Crossroads Center, is an Alternative educational facility that serves students from all Houston County’s middle and high school. Crossroad’s Action Plan focuses on incorporating behavioral engagement strategies to decrease disciplinary referrals. The Plan is also used as an instrument to govern decisions and ideas to enhance their school’s culture.
When Banks County High School and Middle School GraduateFIRST teams reviewed the research regarding dropout prevention, they quickly realized that they needed to reach their primary age students who too often begin the process of school disengagement that leads to dropping out of school.
As an ASPIRE consultant, Colleen Lambert, encourages students to take a more active role in their Individual Education Program (IEP). Through the collaboration between the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Developmental Disabilities Council, school personnel and families are working together to build self advocacy skills in students with disabilities.
Ms. Wausheka McClary, the Parent Mentor for Elbert County School District, discusses her role in building relationships with parents and emphasizing the importance of graduation.
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