Leaders in high school policy and practice confront the dual challenge of significantly improving their graduation rates while simultaneously preparing graduates to succeed in college. To do this, they are complementing school reform strategies with early interventions and “back-on-track” options to reengage and accelerate the learning of students who have fallen off track to graduation. JFF’s Connected by 25 team works with a dozen communities across the country on improving graduation rates without compromising on academic achievement goals.

Based on lessons and tools from leading communities, JFFoffers Bringing Off-Track Youth into the Center of High School Reform, a “starter kit” for school districts seeking to introduce a systemic approach to dropout prevention and recovery. This tool kit supports the efforts of a school district and its partners to create a system of back-on-track options for off-track and out-of-school youth. It focuses on key decision points in identifying young people who are falling off track and on creating high-quality learning environments to help them reengage and graduate college-ready.