Title: Youth Development Task Force
1Youth Development Task Force
- Disconnected Youth Project
- January 10, 2008
- DRAFT
2Every 9 seconds in America a student becomes a
dropout. - Whatever It Takes How 12
Communities are Reconnecting Out-of-School Youth,
American Youth Policy Forum
3Defining the Problem Statistics for the City of
St. Louis
- Number of youth ages 16 to 24 45,0001
- Proportion of middle students that never make the
transition to high school TBD - Proportion of students entering 9th grade that
graduate from high school four years later 572 - Proportion of high school graduates going on to
post-secondary education or training 622 - Number of young people aging out of the foster
care system 4-6/month3 - Juvenile Detention
- Number of youth released from juvenile detention
in 2007 1,0684 - 169 were committed to DYS (as of 9/07)4
- Approximately 300-350 children on official court
supervision at any one time4 - Number of dropouts from SLPS for grades 9-12
1,667 (16.9)2
1 2006 Missouri Census Data Center 2000 US
Census
3 Childrens Division 4 Twenty-Second Judicial
Circuit Court
2 Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
4Reasons for Dropping Out
- Classes are not interesting
- Not motivated or inspired to work hard
- Personal reasons needed a job, became a parent,
needed to take care of parent - Significant academic challenges failing in
school, poorly prepared by earlier schooling,
required to repeat a grade - (Source The Silent Epidemic Perspectives of
High School Dropouts)
5Why Now Is a Good Time
- Initiatives
- ASAP
- Aging Out of Foster Care
- Truancy
- 211
- Other Ways to Earn a Diploma
- ACE (SLPS)
- Big Picture Schools (SLPS)
- CAN! Academies
- In it 2 Win (SLPS)
- Missouri Options Program
- Place-based Partnership
- Funding and Intermediaries
- Ready by 21 - St. Louis for Kids, Wyman Center
- Compassion Capital Fund - St. Louis for Kids, VCR
- NLC Technical Assistance Award
- Civic Leadership
- Judge Jimmie Edwards
- Mayor Francis Slay
- SLPS Superintendent Seeking Alternative School
6Vision
- Mayors Commission on Children, Youth and
Families - Ready by 21
- Disconnected Youth Project
- All youth in the City of St. Louis will graduate
from high school
7Project Goals
- Outline current conditions
- Develop recommendations to re-engage disconnected
youth - Disconnected youth are
- Out of school, out of work, in foster care, under
court supervision, released from juvenile
justice, homeless/runaway and/or young mothers - 11 to 24 years who are already disconnected from
a learning environment or are at-risk of dropping
out - Core group 16 to 21
- Encourage cross-system collaboration
8Whats In Place School-based Prevention
- SLPS Adult Technical Education
- SLPS Secondary School Technical Education
- Clyde C. Miller and Gateway tech schools
- HS aviation, health, culinary, etc. programs
- SLPS Career Education K-12
- St. Louis Internship Program
- SLPS ACE Program
9Whats In Place School-based Re-entry
- SLPS Adult Education Literacy - GED
- SLPS In it 2 Win - Dropout Recovery
- CAN! Academy
- Logos School
10Whats In Place Social Services
- Community Service Center Tutoring, Youth job
development, Runaway/Youth Shelters - Diversity Awareness Partnership Youth
development program with Edward Jones - Youth Emergency Service Residential Services,
Family Focus, Youth Issues Line - Family Resource Center Mentoring Program for
Parenting Teens - Friends with a Better Plan Community Action
Program Youth Development - Girls, Inc Youth Development
- Guardian Angel Settlement Association Youth Job
Development with Nestle/Purina - Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club Youth
Development - Human Development Corporation of Metropolitan St.
Louis Youth Development - Intercommunity Education Association Tutoring
Services - International Institute of Metropolitan St.
Louis Youth Development - Center for Autism Vocational Assessment
- Kids Under Twenty One Youth Development, Youth
Issues Line - Life Skills Youth Development
- Lutheran Family and Childrens Services of MO
Youth Counseling, Youth Development - Mathews-Dickey Boys Girls Club Youth
Development - Missouri Mentoring Partnership Mentoring
Programs
- Northside Community Center Tutoring Services
- Paraquad Youth Development
- Peoples Health Centers Youth Development
- Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region
Safe Sex - Education, Teen Pregnancy Prevention
- Productive Futures Youth Development
- Progressive Youth Connection Mentoring
Programs, - Youth Development
- Project Ark Safe Sex Education
- Provident Mentoring Programs, Teen Pregnancy
- Prevention
- St. Louis Caring Communities Neighborhood
- Connections Mentoring Programs
- St. Louis County Dept of Human Services
Doors to - Success Youth Development
- St. Vincent de Paul Church Tutoring Services
- The Center for Recording Arts Mentoring
Programs, - Youth Development
- Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis Youth
11Whats In Place Juvenile Justice
- Truancy Court
- Juvenile Transition Program (partnership with
MERS/Goodwill) - Juvenile Drug Court
- Payback Program
12Youth Engagement
Beyond High School
Training Professional Development
Youth Development Task Force Disconnected Youth
Project
Building a Cross-System Collaborative
Multiple Pathways
Connecting Services
Data Information Systems
Creating a Youth-Focused Community
Outcome Strategic Plan for Cross-System
Collaboration
13Beyond High School
- Emphasize prevention, not just re-entry
- Emerging Recommendations
- Expand Career and College clubs beyond middle
school to high school and re-entering dropouts - Peers and Careers approach
- Small groups, ongoing, school-based, outside
sponsor, flexible model - Build on success of Adult Education and Literacy
program in SLPS - Serves 7,000 students
- Able to help 300/year earn GED despite average
reading levels of 5th/6th grade
14Connecting Services
- Emerging Recommendations
- Central Location
- One-stop shop
- Multiple access points (phone, internet, school
counselor) - Marketing and Promotion
- Access to information
- Access to services
- Safe environment
15Creating a Youth-Focused Community
- Emerging Recommendations
- School, Family, and Community Partnership
- An environment focused on success of youth
- Community Schools - provide wrap-around resources
- Business Partnerships
- Internships, summer employment and entry-level
positions for youth
16Data Information Systems
- Emerging Recommendations
- Take Stock Assess current conditions and needs
- Utilize data from census and school, foster care
and juvenile systems - What Gets Measured Gets Done Provide framework
- Track progress of implemented programs and
resources - Use framework to help drive local and state
policy
17Multiple Pathways
- Identify current options for dropouts to
re-engage in school - Assess best practices to identify feasible
options for St. Louis - Support SLPS dropout prevention and recovery
efforts - Best Practices NYC Portland, OR
18Best Practice New York City
- Office of Multiple Pathways to Graduation
- New York City Dept. of Education
- Focus on over-age, under-credited youth
- Established Young Adult Borough Centers, Transfer
Schools, GED programs, Learning to Work - Community Education Pathways Success Initiative
- Capacity building for community organizations to
work with dropouts on reading/math - Data-driven
- Effective use of data to improve services for
students
19Best Practice Portland
- Community has developed multiple education
options for struggling students and dropouts - Oregon developed alternative education
legislation - Education Options within Portland Public Schools
- Engagement of community-based organizations
- Municipal efforts to re-engage dropouts
- Funder Investment
- Youth Transition Funders Group
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Alternative
Pathways Project
20Training Professional Development
- Emerging Recommendation
- Continue and expand Advancing Youth Development
Training workshops
21Youth Engagement
- Youth Summit
- First opportunity to engage youth
- Incorporate more opportunities into strategic
plan - Emerging Recommendation
- Develop sustainable, long-term process for
engaging youth in solving community problems - Best Practice OASIS Center model
22Best Practice Nashville
- OASIS partners with young people to help them
overcome serious challenges that prevent them
from transitioning into a healthy adulthood - Nashville Youth Opportunity Center - 21 youth
programs under one roof
23Building a Cross-System Collaborative
- Emerging, Overarching Recommendations
- Elevate profile of dropout issue
- Youth Commissioner
- Mayors Youth Advisory Council
- Public awareness campaign
- Engage business community
- Engage youth, parents and broader community
- Expand and enhance strategic educational pathways
for non-traditional learners - Improve data collection, tracking, reporting and
program evaluation -
24Next Steps
- Ongoing work group meetings
- Youth Summit January 19
- Development of white papers
- Mayors Summit February 9
- Development and implementation of strategic plan
25Mayors Summit
- Saturday, February 9, 2008
- 800 AM to Noon
- Clyde C. Miller Career Academy, 1000 N.
Grand, 63106 - Register on Big Tent or sign up for Big Tent by
visiting http//stlcin.missouri.org/education/you
thDevelopment.cfm - Speakers
- Mayor Francis Slay
- Superintendent Diana Bourisaw
- Business representative
- Presentations by
- National League of Cities (invited)
- Youth Summit participants
26Mayors Summit
- Breakout Groups will match Work Groups
- Discussion
- Co-chairs as facilitators - Open discussion with
synopsis of their section of the white paper - Co-chairs ask participants to react, given the
current conditions - What are the current strengths of our community
to address the section? - What are the gaps?
- What opportunities are available that we have not
listed? - What changes (resources, public policy, etc.) are
necessary? - Who else needs to be involved?
- What 1 or 2 key actions must be taken FIRST in
order to reach our collective goal? - What are your organization and/or you willing to
do?