New Mexico education officials are well on their way to renewing a $ 2 million contract for a Utah-based education company to call and text students with problems, usually when they have been chronically absent from school.
State and school district officials applaud the help, but have not assessed the program to see if it has actually reduced absenteeism over the past year, citing pressures from the coronavirus pandemic. Government officials have also allowed the company to avoid a competitive bidding process.
Last year the New Mexico Public Education Department awarded the Graduation Alliance a $ 4.6 million emergency contract to quickly offer what it calls “academic coaching.” Under the brand name ENGAGE New Mexico, it aims to increase student participation in the school.
The Graduation Alliance announced that it has similar engagement programs in Michigan, Arizona, and South Carolina.
In New Mexico, the company received around 39,000 referrals from students, parents, or schools last year. Around 16,000 of these students opted for academic coaches. All told, the state spent $ 290 on every student who agreed to have an academic coach.
The company employs Spanish-speaking trainers and at least one Navajo-speaking trainer, as well as translation services to communicate with the diverse population of New Mexico. Trainers work to gain students’ trust, encourage them to go to school, and stand up for them when they encounter obstacles in attending class – something that the company says will be important in a personal learning environment.
“Some people are intimidated into asking a teacher for help,” said Graduation Alliance spokesman Greg Harp, adding that students often ask themselves, “How do I ask for help without feeling stupid?”
However, it is unclear whether the program increased engagement or academic achievement over the past year as it did not track grades and student attendance.
A July 1 report from the Public Education Department praised the program as a success, based on a survey the company conducted of participating students and data from partial degrees drawn from a sample of high school graduates. The names of the districts that provided the data were not listed in the report, which said 70 percent of the seniors who were helped graduated.
“Does it make a difference? That’s something we’re going to look at, ”said Harp, adding that the company will work with the counties to collect data.
A notification period for the exclusive purchase contract ends on Friday. If no competing company contests the designation, the contract will be awarded to the Graduation Alliance, said Harp.
Students could be referred to the program as early as next week. Students who were placed in the past have to register again.
Although absenteeism has not yet been documented, anecdotally, the districts say it could be higher than before the pandemic because fewer people feel safe in school and more pressures to find jobs to help their families pay rent as well as Bills to help.
State law requires schools to screen families where a student is chronically absent, including excused absences such as coronavirus quarantines. That means a lot of paperwork for districts like Santa Fe Public Schools, which have a team of three looking after absent students.
In the coming weeks, they expect to refer chronically absent students to funding programs, including that of Graduation Alliance.
“There’s an extra pair of boots on the floor to do some public work,” said Crystal Ybarra, a social worker who leads community work for the Santa Fe District.
Because ENGAGE New Mexico’s outreach efforts can be documented and shared with districts, their text messages and phone calls can reduce the school administration’s workload reporting absenteeism.
Ybarra said the district received reports from the Graduation Alliance but could not immediately assess the impact on grades and attendance.
To help students catch up, the district has set up a four-day homework hotline, mostly staffed by volunteer academic tutors.
According to the National Association of State Procurement Officials, non-competitive contracts are acceptable when a company offers a unique service that no bidder can provide. However, the group recommends that states require agencies to actually check whether competitors exist. The Department of Public Education left a question open on a motion asking what efforts were being made to ensure there were no capable competitors.
Of the four states that ENGAGE programs currently operate in, only Michigan has signed the company through a traditional bidding process, Harp said.
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