Partnership to keep at-risk students from falling further behind

New Mexico's Carlsbad Municipal School District is partnering with the United Way to help high-risk students stay in school — and graduate.

The program, called Adolescent Intervention for Recovery and Resiliency, will address multiple factors that can influence dropout rates, including academics, interpersonal skills and family issues, "to give at-risk students a fighting chance at graduation and success," said Noel Clark, CEO of the Carlsbad Mental Health Center, which is a partner in the effort.

The program will provide students, ages 8 to 15, with an alternative educational and behavioral support system. Students who are expelled or withdrawn from the district will be enrolled in the program, which focuses on both academic and psychological development. The goal is to keep students who are already at risk from falling farther behind, the Carlsbad Current-Argus reported.