Dive Brief:

• Ohio's Westerville City School District's alternative high school program (the Educational Options for Success) has found success getting the most at-risk students to graduate.
• EOS was created to help get students to graduation, and while only 13.5% of "disenfranchised" students in the district used to graduate, that number stands today at nearly 75%.
• EOS has been identified as a model program for drop-out prevention, and a big part of its success is focusing on student needs to ensure academic success.

Dive Insight:

It's exciting to hear about successful graduation programs, specifically for at-risk youth. While the overall U.S. graduation rate has been on the rise, finding ways to engage disenfranchised youth is always a challenge. What stands out about the EOS program is its focus on the individual student. Evidence shows that relationships are the key to producing success, and at-risk students are often finding themselves being punished rather than nurtured.