Join the conversation

Editor's note: Our guest blogger today is Steve Berlin. Steve is Senior Communications Manager at the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE, a Learning First Alliance member).

For anyone reading this post, it should come as no surprise that education professionals have long agreed on these two proactive ways to improve scholastic achievement, at least in principle: dropout prevention efforts must begin before students reach high school, and it is incumbent on education entities to seek partners from outside the field to help students succeed. Further, we must consider looking beyond the “usual suspect” when it comes to partnerships because as a nation, everyone has a vested interest in students’ success.

At the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), we have found a promising formula to help increase the high school graduation rate through our partnership with the U.S. Army. Together, we developed and launched in January 2011 the Partnership for All Students’ Success (Project PASS).  

Project PASS is designed to support students’ academic, social, and emotional needs to increase high school graduation rates and college and career readiness with the new Junior Leadership Corps (JLC) in middle schools and the existing Junior ROTC (JROTC) program in high schools. The JLC was launched as a pilot program at five locations (Garden City, KS, Miami-Dade, FL, Christian and Hardin Counties, KY, and Gwinnett County, GA), and already there are 1,275 students enrolled in PASS, with a waiting list at all five sites. Plans for adding another five sites are in the works.

The JLC is a four-semester or two-year middle school program for the 7th and 8th grade with a curriculum that builds and improves a range of skills, including every day learning; communication or use of spoken language, body language and written word; taking responsibility for actions and choices; maintaining successful personal relationships; and applying critical reasoning skills. JLC middle school students transitioning to high school are encouraged but not required to participate in the Project PASS JROTC high school program.

At each site, high school students participate in JROTC, using a curriculum proven to improve life-long leadership and decision-making skills. Just as JLC students have no obligation to join JROTC, high school JROTC participants are not obligated to join the armed services upon high school graduation. Project PASS is a voluntary program that students elect to participate in (with parent permission) through a school-based application.

Doing work at the district and school levels is not NASBE’s usual modus operandi. After all, NASBE typically works with state board members and state education department staff to develop policy and programs at the “30,000-foot” level rather than at the district and school levels.  But policy should not be created in a vacuum. Just as good board members must get into schools to see first-hand the challenges and successes of students, parents, teachers, and administrators, so too, is this important for NASBE and its staff.

Follow this link for more information about Project PASS and the NASBE/Army partnership, or e-mail us at project-pass@nasbe.org.