Indicator: 33 - Youth At-Risk With Supportive Service Plan

 

Why This Is Important

Parents and educators are especially concerned about the role of schools in identifying and
supporting students who are at-risk of school failure. While Maine has relatively low drop-out
rates in comparison with the nation, Maine youth come to school every day with significant risk
factors that can place them at risk of school failure. There continues to be a high percent of
drop-outs among the special education populations. Organizing services in support of students
and their families in a caring and cost-effective manner is a real challenge for schools and other community social service organizations.

There is varied state-level data regarding this issue; for example, the Department of Education
has school drop-out and related risk factor data. However, there is no well-defined or reliable
state-level data available to report on this type of indicator. In fact, during the process of
developing this report, there was no agreement on how best to define this measure. The indicator remains in the Marks as it is a critical area that deserves further exploration.