It’s a hard-to-swallow reality: Every district has students who are likely to drop out of school. Too often, those students fall through the cracks in the system.
But not in Southwest Colorado. Thanks to the BETA Program, a first-of-its-kind initiative launched in 2018, struggling students receive specialized support to help them succeed.
“It takes one positive relationship to improve outcomes for a kid,” said Genevieve Travis, one of seven BETA Coordinators. “We become that adult who devotes time and energy to you and your family, supports your interests, advocates for you, and makes sure you’re not misunderstood in the school system.”
The BETA, or Behavior, Emotion, Transition, Academics, and Attendance, Program serves approximately 175 students each year in Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, and San Juan counties. The program falls under San Juan BOCES, the Board of Cooperative Educational Services, a public organization created at the state level to provide shared services to school districts.
The logistics may be complicated, but the mission is simple: “We reduce dropout rates and increase the academic success of very high-risk students who, more often than not, don’t qualify for special education services,” Travis said.
Robin Halloran, BETA supervisor, explained that students enter the program voluntarily after being identified in various ways.
“High school students have been expelled, are at risk for expulsion or suspension, or have attendance issues,” she said. “Our middle school students are identified by behavioral and emotional concerns.”
The coordinators—all Master’s-level teachers and mental health providers—create success plans based on students’ strengths, develop strategies for ongoing progress, and connect students and families with necessary support.
“We look for every possible way to support, empower, and engage our kids,” Halloran said.
Seven years’ worth of data backs up the results: participating students see reduced dropout rates, improved attendance, improved academic success, a decrease in behavioral incidents on campus, and successful family engagement.
Then, there are the personal results for each student.
“It can be as big as a student graduating,” Travis said, “or as small as a kid smiling when they walk in the door to school.”
Hard realities still exist for many of these students. But at least in Southwest Colorado, they have dedicated support from the BETA Program on their side.
By Zach Hively
