The M.O.R.E. program aims to address high school dropout rates by providing an after school tutoring program for at-risk 9th grade students. It seeks to improve academic performance and reduce absenteeism through individualized tutoring and counseling sessions to address issues contributing to dropping out like lack of family support, low self-efficacy, and teenage pregnancy. The program would be funded through donations from UPS customers and provide tutoring in small groups three days a week to help students improve skills, complete homework, and discuss post-secondary goals. Its goal is to help students graduate by improving their grades, test scores, and attendance.

1. &
M.O.R.E.
(Mentorship Opportunity Resources Education)
Helping Students Achieve M.O.R.E.
By
Georgia Rives
Curtis Beadling
Eric Sutter
Brian Chang
Robert Cannal
Bethlehem Kassa
Tsedale Kassa

2. BACKGROUND
INTRODUCTION
Society’s educational level grows ever more important as the world continues
to shift towards technology based goods and services and away from heavy
industry. In order to stay in the race, “schools need to change more than in
the last 300 years (Cassel 649).” If they do not, the consequences to
society are tremendous. The level of education among all our citizens
defines our global competitiveness. We have reached that critical point
where “knowledge is rapidly becoming the true capital base and premier wealth
producing resource (Cassel 649).”
DROPOUT RATES
High school dropout rates are one indicator of a nation’s educational level.
For the United States, “high school graduation rates hover between 68 to 71%
(Chasin 626). And the state of “Texas has the second largest dropout rate in
the country (Jonnson 3). This is alarming! Many of those dropouts tend to
be in poorer health while living out their lives in poverty earning as little
as two-thirds of high school graduates.
IMPACT
This in turn, is a large motivator to choose crime as a means to make ends
meet. And others will choose substance abuse to escape the drudgery of
living a diminished life of struggle (Alters 89). “Their need to escape into
that dream world is directly associated with the general absence of personal
development” (Cassel 655). “Inverse relationships are usually found between
the level of reported use of a drug and the level of perceived risk” (Alters
90). Even more alarming is fact that one million of the two million prison
inmates are high school dropouts (Cassel 649). In addition, “80% of inmates
are addicted to alcohol or drugs, and the success rate of addiction
rehabilitation is low, around 15%” (Cassel 649). And dropouts who sidestep
crime and drugs and instead become teenage parents oftentimes “contribute to
a cycle of dependence” since they are not able to offer their children any
more than what they have (Alters 89).
PROCESS
“The process of becoming a dropout is a gradual one” (Chasin 626). It
usually begins with the poor and undernourished who are “subject to frequent
illnesses and generally much less ready for learning” (Alters 83). And this
“much less ready for learning” leads to poor grades. “If people believe that
they have no power to produce results, they will not attempt to make things
happen. Insidious self-doubts can easily over-ride the best of skills. The
stronger people’s belief in their efficacy, the more career options they
consider possible, the greater the interest the show in them, the better they
prepare themselves educationally for different occupations or careers”
(Cassel 651).
REASONS
Lack of Encouragement and Support
So students who perform poorly, see the school experience as boring; they
become disconnected. And without family encouragement and support, the
motivation to learn falls even further. The last beacon of hope is a
teacher’s ability to see potential in a student. A student with a dismal
background feels like a failure because “no one changed his mind;” no one
“pushed him to excel, and no one took the time to build on his potential”
(Chasin 625-626).
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3. Statistically Driven
If the increase in dropout rates is a indicator, “less and less attention is
being paid to students having trouble” Jonnson 2). “Educators are turning
away from failing students. A low-scoring kid dropping out is no longer a
problem for a school. In many districts, it’s an advantage to the school to
have them drop out” (Jonnson 2). Many schools require students to pass
state mandated tests along with passing grades in order to graduate. This
“new academic rigor may be having a demoralizing effect on students who
already were struggling under old standards” (Jonnson 3).
Test Performance
The increased pressures on teachers to ensure students perform well on these
tests lead to three harmful consequences. “Teachers abandon significant
curricular content not measured by their local high-stakes test.” Staggering
amounts of time are devoted towards studying for these tests, which leaves
little time for important material that would otherwise be covered. “This
raises the question as to whether students are being educated or are simply
being groomed to perform well on tests.” Then some teachers follow unethical
test preparation practices by giving students the questions on the tests as
well as the answer key, so that they know the answers and score well, but the
students have not gained any knowledge (Popham 64-65).
Skewed Achievement Tests
Maybe performing well on a standardized test would be fine if the tests
reflected what the students should be learning at their grade level with
average effort. Instead, “80% of the content on a nationally standardized
achievement test may not be meaningfully taught in a given school.” This
means that we are evaluating a student “in which only 20% of the tests
content is even supposed to be taught” (Popham 68). “Developers of
traditional standardized achievement tests want lots of items answered
correctly by between 40 and 60% of test takers. An item answered correctly
by more than 80% of the students, therefore, rarely gets on the test in the
first place. For the test to function as it is intended, it will not contain
many items that almost all students can answer correctly” (Popham 69).
SUMMARY
The many reasons for dropping out are simple; yet the solution is complex.
Whether the reasons begin externally with poverty and lack of support or
perhaps internally with the student’s struggle to understand core concepts,
he soon begins to lose touch with the dream he had as a child. And as a
society we have no choice but to take a role in reducing these surmounting
obstacles. As adults, we must clear the way for our children’s bright, happy
future. That future begins with knowledge today.
Dropout Reasons
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
said classes w ere not interesting
missed too many days to catch up
entered high school poorly prepared by their earlier schooling
said they w ere not motivated to w ork hard
said they w ere failing
said they left to get a job
left to become parents
left to take care of a relative
http://educationalissues.suite101.com/article.cfm/dropouts_give_reasons
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4. BENEFITS
Societies are made of people interacting with each other. Thriving societies
are healthy and stable by meeting its citizens’ needs. In order to do this,
each citizen must contribute to the whole. Unfortunately, high school
dropouts contribute to an ill, unstable community.
It begins with hopelessness, which transforms itself into a need for
escapism. And most choose to escape into a world of drugs which they soon
learn they cannot afford. Morals begin to decline, and theft and
prostitution seem like viable options to children that do not wish to view
the world with sober eyes. Continuing along this path leads them to living
off others in some form. For many, imprisonment comes next. Over half of
the prison population is composed of high school dropouts. Eventually their
health declines and their contribution amount to nothing. Instead, they are
themselves a burden to society by using resources without replacing them.
If this cycle can be broken...if this cycle can somehow be transformed, every
part of society would benefit. If we can give these children back the hope
they have lost, they can envision a bright, happy future that needs no
escape. This, in turn, would reduce unemployment, drug use, crime and poor
health. Thus greatly reducing the burden to society and enabling it to grow
and thrive and achieve something great!
PROGRAM
UPS understands the importance of contributing to society. And UPS wishes to
contribute to the youth that will soon grow into its leaders. “The UPS
Foundation’s contributions are funds awarded to organizations involved with
education, urgent human welfare, and volunteer management and mobilization,
with special focus on literacy” (UPS Policy Book 2001).
So beginning in the fall of 2010, UPS will fund the M.O.O.R.E program that
focuses on literacy, but also on external and internal obstacles that these
children face every single day. The goal is to give back hope by providing
an after school program for incoming freshman at risk for dropping out.
The State
* Texas has the second largest drop out rate in the country.
The City
* Dallas is listed among six other major cities with graduation rates
less than 44%.
The Environment
* Nearly 50% of the community earns less than $30,000 per year.
* An average of 49% are unemployed or not in the labor force.
* Over 1.7 times more crime in this community than the national average.
The High School
* Maceo High School is the least best school in Dallas with less than
half of the students passing the TAKS test in reading, writing, mathematics
for three or more successive years.
* Student enrollment declines by 41% from 9th to 10th grade.
* Student enrollment declines by 52% by 12th grade.
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5. Number of Students Per Grade
200
250
300
350
400
450
9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade
http://www.studentmotivation.org/DallasISD/#smith
The Assessment
* A group of thirty at risk students takes the READ 180 assessment that
will determine grade level in several subject matters and specific weaknesses
that need to be addressed.
* The students meet with a counselor who completes an initial
assessment of each student with on-going sessions to mark progress and
possibly find alternative solutions for common issues leading to student drop
out. Further sessions are scheduled with each student depending on his
individual needs.
1. Teen pregnancy
2. Drug addiction
3. Child abuse
4. Gang affiliation
5. Bullying
6. Care of parents or siblings
7. Financial issues
The Tutoring
* Students are segregated into groups based on their initial assessment
where one of three tutors will spend two hours per day after school teaching
the student and addressing their deficiencies.
* Each group rotates during the week, so that each student has an
opportunity to build skills in all subject areas.
* Fridays focus on discussion about continuing education, choosing a
fulfilling career and the steps to attain these goals.
The Accountability
* Daily attendance is required for continued enrollment in the program.
* Student must call the school if they expect to miss a session.
* If a student misses two or more successive days, a counselor makes a
home visit to encourage the student to continue the program.
The Goal
* Improve students’ academic scores to a minimum of 2.0
* Improve state mandated test scores to passing
* Decrease absenteeism, suspension, etc
* Obtain grants and scholarships for students completing the program
and graduating from Maceo High School.
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6. BUDGET
Funding
• Customers donate at the thirteen customer service locations in the
Dallas / Fort Worth area while paying for the shipment of their
packages.
• Customers donate through their shipping account number at their home or
business location when a UPS driver delivers or picks up packages by
entering the donation amount into the DIAD (Delivery Information
Acquisition Device). UPS will bill their shipping account in that
amount and transfer the funds.
Yearly Estimated Donations Yearly Amount
Weekly Customer Center Revenue $ 36,000
Projected Customer Center Donation @ 1% $ 360
Weekly Delivery & Pick Up Stops 868,643
Projected Driver Received Donation @ .25% $ 112,924
Expenses
Supplies Expense Unit Price Quantity
Total
Price
Pencils (12 pack) $1.29 200 $258.00
Pens (12 pack) $1.29 200 $258.00
Paper Wide rule (150 pack) $2.00 400 $800.00
Printer Paper (5,000 Sheet Pack) $35.00 5 $175.00
Graph Paper (80 Sheets) $1.49 10 $14.90
Rulers $1.29 30 $38.70
2" 3 ring binders 2 each $8.99 30 $269.70
Total Per School Year $1,814.30
(Prices obtained from Officemax.com)
Note: In addition to the recurring expenses listed above, UPS will purchase
thirty Averatec 22” All-in-One computers. XXXXX and anti-virus software will
be installed on each computer.
Payroll Expense Hourly Rate Hours / Week Total Week
M.O.R.E. Director $25.00 40 $1,000.00
Lead Mentor $20.00 20 $400.00
Mentor 2 $15.00 15 $225.00
Mentor 3 $15.00 15 $225.00
Total Per Week $20.56 90 $1,850.00
(Wage rates obtained from xxxx)
Summary
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7. Budget Weekly Yearly
Customer Service Center Contributions $ 360 $ 18,720
Driver Received Contributions $ 2,172 $ 112,924
Payroll Expense ($1,850) ($81,400)
Rent Expense (donated by school) $ - $ -
Supplies Expense ($41.23) ($1,814)
Net $ 684 $ 48,429
Schedule
Staffing Work Week Hours Responsibilities
Director Monday - Friday 10:00 - 7:00 Counsel students as needed
Schedule appointments for students with
outside agencies as necessary
Follow up on attendance issues
Complete classroom plans by subject
Organize field trips (monthly)
Head Mentor Monday - Friday 3:00 - 7:00
Teach students basic skills up to their
grade level
Assist in homework (all subjects)
Reevaluate students' monthly progress
Mentor 2 Monday - Friday 3:30 - 6:30
Teach students basic skills up to their
grade level
Assist in homework (Mathmatics, Science)
Mentor 3 Monday - Friday 3:30 - 6:30
Teach students basic skills up to their
grade level
Assist in homework (English, History,
Government)
PROPOSAL
M.O.R.E changes lives by addressing more than academic success through
tutoring. M.O.R.E addresses the underlying problems of a weary, impoverished
community. Students learn accountability for their actions and the results
from those actions. Progressive counseling coupled with existing outreach
groups address self-doubt, teenage pregnancy and other problems outside of
school. When making your decision, please think about the child that has lost
hope and is leaning toward a life of drugs and crime. Let M.O.R.E change
that child’s future to one of limitless opportunities. Think about the girl
who goes to college because she did not get pregnant in high school due to
the informed decision she made through knowledge and support made available
to her through M.O.R.E. We can offer all this because you decided M.O.R.E.
is better. Please contact us via email info@moreprogram.edu or at 1-800-ups-
more.
WORKS CITED
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8. 1. Alters, Sandra M. Education; Meeting America’s Needs? Farmington Hills:
Gale 2008.
2. Popham, James W. America’s “Failing” Schools. New York: RoutledgeFarmer
2004.
3. Chasin, Gene; Finnan, Christine. “Accelerating the learning of Low-
Achieving Students: The Transformation of a Dropout.” Phi Delta Kappan.
April 2007: p625-629.
4. Jonsson, Patrick. “Higher Standards – and more dropouts?” Christian
Science Monitor (2001). [Accessed 17 February, 2010]
5. Cassel, Russel N. “A High School Drop-Out Prevention Program For The
At-Risk Sophmore Students.” The Cassel research Institute. January
2003: p649-655.
6. Pytel, Barbara. “Dropouts Give Reasons” (1996)
http://educationalissues.suite101.com/article.cfm/dropouts_give_reasons
[Accessed 24 February, 2010]
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