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What is CEP’s purpose?
The purpose of the CEP Program is to improve school safety and academic achievement while creating savings for the District by reducing the number of students repeating grades. This is accomplished by getting low-performing and disruptive students back on track in their learning and behavior so they can return to their sending schools prepared to be successful.
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What student population does CEP serve?
CEP serves two groups of students:
- Students in grades 6 through 12 who are disruptive and low performing who need to get back on track in their learning and behavior so they can return to their sending schools better prepared to be successful; and
- Students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 who are non-disruptive, low-performing, credit deficient, grade repeating and at risk of dropping out of school.
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How does CEP differ from a traditional school?
CEP focuses only on two distinct types of students:
- The district’s most disruptive and lowest-performing students in grades 6 through 12; and
- Non-disruptive, low-performing, credit deficient, grade-repeating students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 who are at risk of dropping out of school.
In order to best serve disruptive and low-performing 6th through 12th grade students, the following items are unique to the CEP program:
- Students are served in small, single-gender, grade appropriate small Learning Communities.
- The school is designed using principles that maximize safety and minimize distractions from learning. The building design is enhanced by the use of adult supervision in all common areas.
- The CEP Program uses a multi-discipline approach to address the academic, behavioral and social needs of its students. The program’s goal is to improve students’ basic academic skills, classroom behavior and life skills so they may be successful on return to their home schools.
- Classrooms are staffed with two adults in each classroom, with each Learning Community providing 12 adults for approximately 135 students in a five-classroom model Learning Community.
- Students remain in the Learning Community throughout the day, and do not congregate in areas which typically create safety issues, such as hallways, cafeterias and multi-stall restrooms.
- Each student undergoes an initial five-day Assessment and Orientation to determine the his/her individual needs.
- Extensive social services are offered on-site to students and parents by community-based providers.
- Teachers receive specialized training on how to best serve the unique needs of disruptive and low-performing students.
In order to best serve the population of non-disruptive, low-performing, credit deficient, grade-repeating students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 who are at risk of dropping out of school, the following items are unique to CEP’s dropout prevention and delivery program:
- Each student undergoes an initial assessment to determine his/her individual needs.
- The program features a teacher-directed, mastery-based, and technology-enhanced learning model focused on each student’s individual needs as determined by the initial assessment.
- In addition to teaching students the core academic subjects (reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, etc.) the program focuses on the skills they need to become responsible adult citizens, including vocational skills, daily living skills, and socio-personal skills.
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What social services and assistance are provided to students and families through the CEP program?
CEP’s staff-intensive setting allows us to go "above and beyond" the typical District school in giving students and their families individual attention and in responding to their specific needs.
A special feature of the CEP program is the Student and Family Service Center, which houses a team of people who provide special services to students and their families. Within this Center are a myriad of community-based social service providers who offer on-site services such as:
- Anger Management
- Family Counseling
- Substance Abuse Prevention
- Crisis Intervention
- Mental Health Evaluations
- Case Management
- Pregnancy Counseling and Parenting Skills
- Probation and Truancy Services
The program also employs bilingual staff and faculty members to assist parents and guardians with limited English proficiency.
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Does CEP have a track record in helping School Districts achieve safer schools, more orderly classrooms and significant reductions in disciplinary incidents, suspensions and weapons offenses?
Yes. Student fights were reduced 78% during the first year of the Richmond program. Incidents of fighting were reduced 39% and out-of-school suspensions were reduced 37% in Orange County Public Schools (Orlando, FL). Expulsions were down by 46% in Bay District Schools (Panama City, FL).
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Does CEP have a track record of improving the academic performance of previously low-performing, grade-repeating students?
Yes. CEP’s Richmond school was Virginia’s only alternative program to achieve AYP and is Virginia’s only accredited alternative school. CEP’s Orange County, Florida schools led the District in math gains on the state skills test (FCAT) for the lowest quartile of students and was in the top tier of reading gains for the lowest quartile of students.
2,160 of 2,613 (83%) low-performing, over-age, grade-repeating, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th grade students referred to the program during the school years 2002-03 through 2005-06 were promoted, resulting in a dramatic increase in the number of 10th, 11th and 12th grade students enrolled in OCPS high schools.
83% of students who returned to their home schools are still in school or have graduated (based on random sample of 231 9th graders selected in 2002-03 and re-assessed in 2005-06 when they were 12th graders).
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How will CEP work with the School District?
- CEP will report through the District’s governance structure.
- CEP will follow the District’s scope and sequence.
- CEP is subject to the District’s accountability requirements.
- CEP complies with all District record keeping, policy and procedures and meets all reporting requirements on service and client information.
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What type of staff does CEP hire?
CEP only hires staff that is eligible to be hired by the School District. CEP teachers must have a Bachelor’s degree and sufficient course work in a field to be certified in a subject approved by the state. If the applicant is not certified he/she must enter an approved certification program. If the applicant is certified, but not highly qualified, he/she must become highly qualified. CEP provides a quality staff development program for its concept of "Be Here, Behave and Be Learning."
Additionally all staff members are trained in the "Handle with Care" behavioral strategies. Staff members participate in 80 hours of training each summer and ongoing staff development throughout the school year.
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Is CEP unionized in any of the Districts it serves?
CEP has collective bargaining agreements in Houston and Philadelphia. It is open to being organized. No jobs have ever been lost due to CEP.
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How does CEP’s cost compare to the cost of District-run alternative education program?
Districts partnering with CEP save between 25% and 45% per student from previous, district-run alternative programs.
- Richmond Public Schools saved 25% per student.
- Florida districts forming partnerships with CEP saved an average of 32% per student.
- The School District of Philadelphia saved 45% per student compared to the previous, district-run alternative program.
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Why should the school district contract with CEP?
The District is doing an excellent job of accomplishing its core mission with students who are attending school, are willing to learn and follow the school district’s code of conduct, and are on-track to graduate with their peers. However, because the District is operating a broad range of programs to serve all its students, its time and management are distributed over all these programs. CEP is able to provide a high-impact solution to the District because:
- CEP’s only focus is to work with these two distinct groups of students:
- Low-performing and disruptive students in grades 6 through 12; and
- Non-disruptive, over-age credit deficient students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 who are at risk of dropping out.
- CEP has developed academic and behavioral strategies for serving these types of students based on research and best practices.
- CEP has a track record of proven results showing that students improve attendance, behavior and academic skills when enrolled in the program.
- CEP results on state tests indicate that its students progress at a faster rate than the state and district averages.
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