Whatever It Takes: How Twelve Communities Are Reconnecting Out-of-School Youth

• NCJ Number: 213653
• Author(s): Nancy Martin; Samuel Halperin
• Date Published: 2006
• Length: 192 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation; W.K. Kellogg Foundation
• Corporate Author: American Youth Policy Forum
• Sale Source: American Youth Policy Forum
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report describes programs in 12 U.S. cities designed to draw school drop-outs back into the education system; 7 major national programs with this mission are also described.

Abstract

A program in Montgomery County (Dayton), OH, established charter schools for out-of-school youth; and a large school district in Jefferson County (Louisville), KY, developed 80 options for retaining and graduating students, using an advanced student information system to ensure accountability. In Austin, TX, an alternative public high school and community-based charter schools provide many options for out-of-school youth. A public high school in Salt Lake City, UT, offers continuing education sources that serve 9,000 youth and adults annually. In Portland, OR, a school district, community-based organizations, and a community college are cooperating to engage at-risk and out-of-school youth in education services; State legislation facilitates dropout reconnection and the funding of alternative education. In Oakland, CA, two community-based organizations provide outreach to out-of-school youth in an effort to provide them with new perspectives on how education determines how they will live their lives. In Trenton, NJ, a nontraditional public high school is graduating large numbers of previously out-of-school youth and young adults, and Baltimore's (Maryland) mayor is committed to drawing out-of-school youth back into education through partnerships with private-sector organizations. Other communities in Arizona, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania have mounted employment training programs, public campaigns for dropout recovery, youth-development programs, and multiple educational options to enhance opportunities for out-of-school youth to increase their knowledge and employment skills. Federal programs profiled are Job Corps, Jobs for America's Graduates, National Guard Youth ChalleNGe, Opportunities Industrialization Centers, YouthBuild, Youth Service and Conservation Corps, and Youth Opportunity Grant program. Additional resources and a glossary