EASTON, Pa. — Easton Area School District soon will launch a pilot program aimed at supporting students who have fallen behind on credit hours.
The RAD Program, or Rovers Achieving Diplomas, intends to help students who have fallen into a credit deficit and may be prone to dropping out, district administrators told the school board last week.
RAD will offer those students a chance to recoup their missing credits via a program that combines in-person and out-of-school learning opportunities, with a goal of reintroducing them to standard schooling in their appropriate grade level.
“All of us who sat down to collaborate on this also don't believe that that increase is enough.”Easton Area High School Principal Kyle Geiger
Easton Area High School Principal Kyle Geiger said the district's four-year graduation rate dropped from 87.5% in the 2020-21 school year to 82.2% the following year.
The district saw a high mark for dropouts in 2022-23, with 92 students leaving.
While that rate rebounded — in 2023-24, EAHS reached 87.1%, ahead of the state’s 85% — Geiger said “all of us who sat down to collaborate on this also don't believe that that increase is enough.”
'A safe, supportive environment'
Within the district’s high school, students earn a particular number of credits per year: freshman need 5.5, sophomores 11.5, juniors, 17.5 and seniors 24.5.
While students can earn additional credits to catch up via credit recovery or additional courses, RAD targets those who are likely at risk of dropping out.
“So the purpose of our Rovers Achieving Diplomas is to create a safe, supportive environment, removing barriers to educational stability," Director of Special Education Katherine Schultz said.
"And we thought that it was really important to define what educational stability is.”
Schultz said educational stability as a combination of consistent attendance, advocation for assistance and support, support for engagement and collaboration, empowered learning, designing and achieving realistic goals, and ultimately earning enough credits to graduate on time.
"This is focused on credit deficiency and ensuring that they stay with their cohort or catch up to their cohort for academic purposes.”Easton Area High School Principal Kyle Geiger
Geiger said RAD would partner virtual and in-person learning, letting students progress at their own pace. The program also will offer individual and group counseling.
The student, parents and educators would engage in a contract for the program, making it a voluntary initiative.
“We're going to identify those students who have lost in some way, shape or form, the desire to access their learning," Geiger said.
"So these are students that may be attending school but are not coming to school for the academic purpose, or are avoiding class or school in general.
“This — and again, I want to overemphasize this — is not a disciplinary placement. This is not about a child's behavior. This is focused on credit deficiency and ensuring that they stay with their cohort or catch up to their cohort for academic purposes.”
Supporting students
Students in RAD would be bused to school — the initial eight to 10 students in the pilot program will be in the old Palmer school’s faculty area — where they will work on material in-person from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
After they are dismissed, the students will be responsible for additional coursework on their own time.
Fridays may be left open as an optional day, allowing for some students to come in for additional support if needed.
Transportation will be provided by the district, as will breakfast and lunch.
Ultimately, students will accrue 530 in-person hours, and 360 remote hours of education.
Classroom teams will consist of a special education teacher, a behavior analyst and licensed behavior specialist, and a board- certified behavior analyst from Brett DiNovi & Associates.
Administration will include Director of Student and Community Services Craig Reichl, Schultz, Geiger and special education supervisors Candice Davis and Gemella McNally.
'Do something a little bit different'
Rollout starts this week, with an administrative review of candidates, invitations to parents and students for meetings, classroom setup, finalization of scheduling, invitations to prospective students, securing of necessary services and more.
“The ultimate goal is to not have a program such as this, because we have mitigated whatever those root causes are for students and have them traverse high school education with the rest of their peers in a pretty typical way."Easton Area Schools Superintendent Tracy Piazza
“So the whole idea is that when students come in, they're sequestered in their area all day," Reichl said. "They work hard and they get out and they go do what teenage kids do in the afternoon.
"If we see that they want to be there five, or two days a week, we'll figure that out for them. But again, it's just an opportunity to do something a little bit different that hasn't been done here before, and be able to help kids. And we're really excited.”
Superintendent Tracy Piazza said the pilot program will be a great starting point for the initiative, and it could be expanded if needed.
“But the ultimate goal is to not have a program such as this, because we have mitigated whatever those root causes are for students and have them traverse high school education with the rest of their peers in a pretty typical way,” Piazza said.
