From Ghosts to Graduates: An Educator’s Guide to Identifying and Reconnecting Disengaged Students
ISBN: 9781003321798
Platform/Publisher: Taylor & Francis / Routledge
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Unlimited; Download: Unlimited



From Ghosts to Graduates is a timely book that recognizes that three years of interrupted learning has created an impending dropout timebomb of students who are traditionally at risk, as well as those who became disengaged during pandemic learning. Many students are ghosts in the system--they have become disconnected and disenchanted with schooling. Instead of only addressing strategies to treat the symptoms of dropping out, this important resource addresses the causes of the disengagement that led to those symptoms.

Author Emily Freeland shows how to identify existing and potential ghosts, how to reconnect students to the learning process and communicate that we see them and believe in them, how to overcome barriers to progress, and how to restore hope. Each chapter offers current research and practical strategies, as well as Do Now and Reflection sections to help you apply the ideas as you read.

With the deliberate practices in this book, you'll be able to change the trajectory of the ghosting trend and help more of your students be seen.


Dr. Emily Freeland has over 28 years of experience that includes administrative positions at the state, district, and school levels, as well as teaching science. Much of her work has been concentrated in schools that were identified as underperforming and targeted the implementation of school turnaround principles, the effective use of data, closing achievement gaps, and increasing graduation rates. Emily is currently serving districts and schools across the nation as an Instruction and Leadership Coach. Emily is a certified National Dropout Prevention Specialist and has presented at multiple regional and national conferences. Emily was awarded an Outstanding Curriculum Leader Award by the Alabama Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development. She was also a recipient of a Samford University Orlean Beeson School of Education Learning for Life Award. Follow her on Twitter at @EmilyKFreeland.
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