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.
Download the Locating and Re-Engaging Secondary Students with Disabilities – Introduction (PDF)