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Every parent wants to see his or her child successfully complete high school. Therefore, caring adults in students’ lives need to understand the changing landscape of graduation requirements and diploma options to ensure students graduate prepared for college and careers.

PLUK has been offering free tutoring for 10 years. While the Billings-based organization helps families of children with disabilities and special health care needs, the tutoring program is open to any child needing help along with some adults working for their general education development diploma, Thurston said.

This revised study finds that students who don’t read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave without a diploma than proficient readers. It is notable in breaking down for the first time the likelihood of graduation by different reading skill levels and poverty experiences. It also updates a 2011 research brief with new data on graduation rates for students living in concentrated poverty.

Rich Janssen, a lifelong Ronan resident and involved community member, has an autistic child.  His son, Jake, was diagnosed with autism May 31, 1998, when he was 2 years old. At the time, about one in 1,000 children were autistic. That number has risen exponentially through the last 15 years to one in 50 males. One-third of those diagnosed with autism develop epilepsy. Jake is among them and was recently diagnosed with diabetes.  Even so, Jake seems like one of the happiest children you’ll ever meet. “He’s a blessing and he’s really humbled me to what’s important in life,” Rich said. “It’s not anything arbitrary or anything that you can lose, and it’s made me much more sympathetic to those with a disability ... anyone with a disability is on our short list of going to heaven pretty quick.” Having been integrated into Ronan schools since he was 2 1/2 years old, Jake will graduate with a high school diploma this spring and has the option to walk with his class at graduation. 

What:Improving graduation rates have factored into political, economic, and education discussions because earning a high school diploma has been described as having individual and community economic benefit. However, even with educational reforms, dropout rates in some communities remain high. Schools often find addressing the challenges associated with improving graduation rates to be difficult, but for students with disabilities, the challenges can be even more complex. Georgia's GraduateFIRST initiative is designed to help students with disabilities and other students who are struggling stay in school and graduate.When:Tuesday, February 28, 201210:00 am -11:30 am MSTContact:All registration is free. To register you can call 1-800-775-7654 or register online here! For more information you can Email Sarah Melpignano at smelpignano@edc.org

Students with learning differences are twice as likely as their peers to drop out of high school, according to the National Center for Learning Disabilities. Betty Ann Bowser visited an elementary school that practices early intervention -- engaging students with technology and art to improve their chances of earning a diploma.

"In the middle and high schools, for high-functioning students, they have an elective class where they work on their organizational and social skills, speech therapists and disability awareness, like what is autism and how does this affect me to give them some vocabulary to work with," she said. "There have certainly been mistakes made with Eric at school, but I can't be too harsh because I've made them too. However, the school system has processes in place that help figure out interventions and solutions. My son is on track to get a regular high school diploma but, without the support of this program, without someone to intervene if he was having a moment, he would crash and burn."