More High School Graduates : How Schools Can Save Students from Dropping Out

A proven system to boost high school graduation rates

More High School Graduates is a comprehensive guide for school leaders and government policymakers committed to boosting high school graduation rates. Drawing from his knowledge as an education official and professor, author Ben Levin presents a system to turn around secondary schools that is adaptable for local-, district-, and state-level decision making.

Offering a road map for improvement, this book′s practical and specific recommendations have increased graduation rates across hundreds of high schools. Components include

• Keeping track of all students′ progress and intervening early to prevent failure
• Establishing curriculum and graduation requirements that support increased student success
• Improving teaching and learning
• Connecting with the community to engage families, local businesses, and other stakeholders in improving graduation rates
• Implementing methods for planning, communicating, and winning support

The stigma of "dropout factories" hangs over school districts and education agencies. This book helps turn any school or district into a success factory producing more graduates and better learning outcomes.

Ben Levin is a professor and Canada Research Chair in Education Leadership and Policy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. His career is about half as an academic and half as a senior civil servant. He is a graduate of the University of Manitoba, Harvard University, and the University of Toronto, and also holds an honorary degree from the University of Ottawa. He has worked with private research organizations, school districts, provincial governments, and national and international agencies, as well as building an outstanding academic and research career. As a civil servant, he served as Deputy Minister (chief civil servant) for Education for the Province of Ontario from 2004 to 2007 and again in 2008-09. From 1999 through 2002, he was Deputy Minister of Education and of Advanced Education for the Province of Manitoba. As a scholar he has published seven books and more than 200 other articles on education in professional and academic publications. He gives talks and consults on education issues around the world. His current interests are in large-scale change, poverty and inequity, and finding better ways to connect research to policy and practice in education.