New Re-Engagement Center welcomes former dropouts back to school

Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Superintendent Carol R. Johnson today joined city, school and community leaders to mark the opening of the Boston Public Schools (BPS) Re-Engagement Center. In an event at the John Shelburne Community Center in Roxbury, where the center is located, Mayor Menino officially opened the doors to the new district resource aimed at bringing students who have dropped out of high school back on track to graduation.

“The Re-Engagement Center is an innovative and important instrument to keeping kids in school when they come back,” said Mayor Menino. “By proactively giving students counseling and guidance we increase their support system and show them they’re not alone. The Center helps to keep them focused on their number one goal – graduating.”

The center, one of the first of its kind in the nation, is designed to ensure successful transitions back to high school for students who had dropped out but are returning to pursue a diploma. Students will spend a short period of time at the center to participate in tutoring, credit recovery, counseling and other services before being placed in an appropriate diploma-granting high school.

“Like every city in the country, Boston faces the very serious challenge of eliminating the dropout problem,” said Dr. Johnson. “We are taking a very systematic approach to keep our students in school and to bring back those who have dropped out. The Re-Engagement Center provides a safe haven, where students can get the individualized support they need to ensure that they get back on track to receive a high school diploma.”

Alfreda J. Harris, a member of the Boston School Committee and former director of the Shelburne Center, also welcomed guests and emphasized the importance of community involvement in dropout prevention and recovery.

The Re-Engagement Center is an expansion of the work of Project Reconnect, led by the Boston Private Industry Council (PIC), to contact former dropouts directly to encourage them to return to school. During the summer, BPS and PIC staff reached out to hundreds of former BPS students to present options for re-enrollment, including the Re-Engagement Center.

The center, which is already serving 320 students, takes students both by referral and walk-in. Staff at the center review transcripts and establish plans to help each student enroll in an appropriate BPS high school or alternative program. Staff will continue to monitor and support students after they have left the Re-Engagement Center to ensure they remain on track to graduation. The center’s motto captures the district’s approach to dropout prevention and recovery: We care too much to let you go.

Ashleigh Juarez, one of the first students attending the center, spoke about dropping out of school after having a child while in high school.  She now spends several hours a day at the center making up coursework and preparing for a successful re-entry to high school.

The Re-Engagement Center also will provide services to middle and high school students with chronic absenteeism. Center staff will offer students and families counseling, tutoring and other supports on a voluntary basis to promote improved attendance.

Officials today highlighted a new program at Charlestown High School, also designed to support students who are overage and under-credited. Through a partnership with Diploma Plus funded by the Gates Foundation, Charlestown High School has opened a new “small learning community” for 60 students in need of additional academic support. Diploma Plus is a Boston-based organization that develops and implements small schools within schools that provide rigorous and student-centered alternatives for students.

The Re-Engagement Center is one of several strategies in Superintendent Johnson’s “Graduation for All” initiative to ensure every BPS student completes high school prepared for college and career success. The district commissioned a 2007 study conducted by the Parthenon Group to provide an unprecedented analysis of the dropout challenge in Boston. As a result of the study, the district has launched several targeted efforts to prevent at-risk students from dropping out, and to bring back students who already have dropped out. These include:

· Investments to strengthen all BPS high schools: The district’s dropout prevention strategy includes a particular focus on offering more challenging coursework through expansion of Advanced Placement (AP) classes, dual enrollment, and other programs to prepare students for rigorous college-level work.

· Credit recovery: The Parthenon Study confirmed that students who are just one or two courses from meeting graduation requirements, particularly if they are overage, are more likely to drop out than enroll in another year of school. Credit recovery programs throughout the city, during the summer and school year, are giving those students a chance to complete their final classes and graduate in their senior year. Over the past two years, more than 400 students – most of them potential dropouts – have earned diplomas in the new summer commencement ceremony.

· Newcomers Academy: High school students who arrive in the U.S. knowing little English are significantly more likely to drop out. Many students arrive in Boston during the school year having experienced an interruption in schooling in their home country. Newcomers Academy, which opened in Dorchester last winter, provides these students with a short-term transition program to help prepare them socially and academically for high school while they develop English skills.

The academic goals and targets in Dr. Johnson’s “Acceleration Agenda” for the Boston Public Schools include an annual dropout rate of 3% or less by 2012 and a four-year graduation rate of at least 80%.

Irvin Scott, Academic Superintendent for High Schools, added, “The message to Boston students who have dropped out or who are on the verge of dropping out is simple: Boston, Massachusetts, and America need you to get your high school diploma, and the Re-Engagement Center is ready to help you.”

Also present at the kickoff event were Karen Cowan, director of the Re-Engagement Center; Margaret “Ranny” Bledsoe, headmaster of Charlestown High School; Neil Sullivan, Executive Director of the Boston Private Industry Council; staff from both programs, as well as students, parents, and community partners.

Mayor Menino has emphasized a coordinated approach among City departments and community agencies to address the dual challenge of truancy and dropouts. The Re-Engagement Center and other graduation initiatives involve successful collaboration among schools, police, community centers, libraries, public health, and other City departments.

In addition to City funds, the Re-Engagement Center is funded in part through community partners such as the Boston Private Industry Council, the Boston Public Health Commission, Youth Options Unlimited, Boston After School & Beyond, the MBTA and others.

Top photo: Re-Engagement Center director Karen Cowan (right) welcomes Ashleigh Juarez, who is returning to high school after having dropped out, and her son Jonathan.

Bottom photo: Charlestown High School headmaster Margaret Ranny Bledsoe (left) describes the school's new Diploma Plus program, where Murillo Nietto (right) is enrolled.