February edition focuses on dropouts and jobs in one Philadelphia neighborhood
by thenotebook on Feb 03 2012
The term "dropout factory" takes on a new meaning in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, where the staggering loss of entry-level manufacturing jobs has severely limited opportunities for those without a high school diploma.
For the seventh time, the Notebook is tackling the city's dropout crisis in its new print edition, and there will be a lot more to see, hear, and read about it on Monday - both here and on WHYY FM.
The edition takes a comprehensive look at dropouts and jobs in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood. There, only one in four dropouts in their early 20s is working.
"What a train wreck," says Paul Harrington, director of Drexel University's Center for Labor Markets and Policy, which conducted an extensive look at youth employment outcomes for the edition's feature story.
In addition to a cover story that immerses readers in the painful struggles of young dropouts looking for work, the edition includes new data on citywide high school graduation rates. Philadelphia's class of 2011 was the first class in memory to have a 4-year graduation that topped 60 percent.
The Notebook's work on dropouts is supported by major funding from Philadelphia's Project U-Turn. The American Graduate project and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting also supported reporting for this edition as part of the Notebook's partnership with WHYY/NewsWorks.
Thanks to our partnership with WHYY, on Monday at 10 a.m., Radio Times will will devote an hour to talking about dropouts with guests including:
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Paul Harrington, Drexel University's Center for Labor Markets and Policy
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Lisa Nutter, Philadelphia Academies and (Philadelphia's first lady)
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Harvey Chism, Philadelphia Youth Network
And at 6 p.m. Monday on NewsWorks Tonight, reporter Benjamin Herold will introduce listeners to the subject of his cover story for the print edition. Twenty-year-old Monica Reyes (not her real name) dropped out of school at 17 and has been unemployed for the last year, putting in one unsuccessful job application after another.
"All [employers] say is, 'Our hiring manager is not in,' or, 'We're going to look at your application and give you a call back,'" says a frustrated Reyes.
Check the Notebook blog on Monday for the full multimedia spread.
If you can't wait that long, a PDF of the full print edition is available online. Notebook members' copies of the edition are in the mail, and it is being distributed around town starting today.
The Notebook and Young Friends of the Philadelphia Youth Network will host a happy hour to give us a chance to chat and reflect on this topic. Join us on Wednesday!
Comments (13)
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 16:09.
The State doesn't use the same calculation method as the District. The District "creams" the top students for its magnet programs and then gives those schools credit for excellent graduation rates. The Notebook should be ashamed of itself for perpetuating this fraud.
Submitted by Paul Socolar on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 19:54.
Actually we have gotten some calls from selective admission schools complaining to the Notebook about our approach to reporting the cohort graduation rate. Our approach (and the District's) is based on where students first attend 9th grade. This method holds them responsible for the students they admit in 9th grade, even if they revert to their neighborhood schools. Girls and Central both have graduation rates that are 4 points lower on the District's scale than on the state's. CAPA's number is 99% by the state measure, 94% on the District's.
So would you rather have us reporting the higher numbers for these schools?
We've chosen this approach because we think it's most logical to hold schools accountable for the performance of the students they initially admit, whether or not they stay. Our chart tells you that if you enroll at CAPA, you have a 94% chance of becoming a high school graduate in four years. It's harder to explain exactly what the state's version of the graduation rate means.
Submitted by K.R. Luebbert (not verified) on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 20:18.
I think considering the number of entering ninth graders who then graduate in four years is very fair. I can see why the magnets don't like it. They get rid of the kids who can't hack it after 9th grade and then graduate all (or nearly all) of entering seniors. It is fair to hold a selection school responsible for the kids they select and enroll. KIPP has had this issue with their statistics for years. Their attrition rate is nearly 40%, yet they claim a high graduation rate because they only count entering seniors. Neighborhood schools do not have that advantage, but I am not sure how how the statistics could be looked at to account for this. Perhaps finding out the number of kids in the neighborhood catchment who chose selection or charter schools could be an interesting statistic.
Submitted by William T. (not verified) on Mon, 02/06/2012 - 21:05.
As always, charters can grease the numbers while the real schools can't--a totally unfair playing field and it keeps getting worse under Corbett. Where're Nutter and Jordan??They both should be screaming and rightfully so. Since they aren't, should we consider the possibility that they're complicit in all this abuse??
Submitted by Andrew Saltz (not verified) on Sun, 02/05/2012 - 08:51.
Both numbers seem relevant.
I don't see some schools on here. Did some schools refuse to give data?
Submitted by Ms.Cheng (not verified) on Sun, 02/05/2012 - 09:22.
Hey guys, lest we all forget, it's not about individual kids now, it's about their seats ... you know "high performing" vs "low performing"... It's gone from "no child left behind" to "no seat left low" :)
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 20:20.
First, I meant to write "perpetrating" a fraud. That was my lame attempt to use 1980's slang stifled by the auto-correct function. It was tongue-in-cheek. Don't get defensive. The only thing those numbers tell is that the greater the ability of the school to decide the qualifications of its students, the more likely that experience will be successful.
Submitted by Bill Betzen (not verified) on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 21:28.
A four step dropout prevention program has evolved since 2005 at 4 Dallas Middle Schools and the two high schools they feed into. In 2005 these two high schools which were among the botton 1/3rd of Dallas ISD non-magnet high schools with some of the worst dropout rates in Dallas in 2005. Then the School Archive Program began to evolve, constantly getting better. Now the project can be said to involve 4 steps:
First, parents are given instructions for writing a letter to their child the first months of middle schools about their dreams for their child. While it is often hard to get letters from everyone, special attention is given to students with poor attendance records and failing grades. This letter can become a valuable document in a families history.
Second, the child takes this letter to his Language Arts classes where it is used to give them ideas as they write a letter to themselves as to what they hope to accomplish in their lives, and in middle school.
Third, both these letters are sealed into the same envelope and placed into the School Archive, a 500+ pound vault bolted to the floor in the school lobby under a spotlight. The letter stays there during middle school.
Fourth, after a period of time, three years in middle school and four years in high school, the letters are pulled out, read, with new letters written , returning again to step one above. The only difference is that now you focus on goals for 10 years into the future. What do you hope you child is doing in 10 years? The child writes about their own personal goals for 10 years into the future.
Fifth step is 10 years after leaving middle school, or high school, when there is a class reunion. Everyone is invited back to the opening of the safe and a party. Then they are also invited to speak with the then current students about their recommendations for success. They are warned to prepare for question such as “What would you do differently if you were 13 again?”
This same patters is then again repeated in high school beginning with the writing in the 9th grade, and the final letter looking 10 years into the future as seniors.
Since this project started the graduation rates have improved significantly at both high schools, going from 33% to 62% at one of the schools. They both are in the top 1/3 of schools in Dallas relative to their graduation rates. See http://schoolarchiveproject.blogspot.com/2010/12/school-archive-project-...
This project costs about $1 per student per year to run. In rests on the efforts of teachers who love the idea of seeing their students again in 10 years, and donors who love the idea of doubling the graduation rates. Total expenses in the first 6 years of the project at the first middle school were less than $2,000 due to the donated vault and a $1,500 grant.
. .
Submitted by Ms.Cheng (not verified) on Sun, 02/05/2012 - 09:19.
It sounds like a successful and creative project. Thanks for the info. I think having a structure to consistently bring older/former students to speak to younger/current students is wonderful. The writing of goals of course brings better focus, and having a look at how our ideas change with time can't ever hurt :)
Submitted by Bill Betzen (not verified) on Sun, 02/05/2012 - 09:50.
We will begin to experience the value of that potentially priceless feedback, from the 8th grade students of 2005, in 2014-05. That will be when this program really begins the push to move toward, and hopefully past, an 80% graduation rate. Having started at 33%, that is wonderful!
Submitted by Bill Betzen (not verified) on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 21:30.
A four step dropout prevention program has evolved since 2005 at 4 Dallas Middle Schools and the two high schools they feed into. In 2005 these two high schools which were among the botton 1/3rd of Dallas ISD non-magnet high schools with some of the worst dropout rates in Dallas in 2005. Then the School Archive Program began to evolve, constantly getting better. Now the project can be said to involve 4 steps:
First, parents are given instructions for writing a letter to their child the first months of middle schools about their dreams for their child. While it is often hard to get letters from everyone, special attention is given to students with poor attendance records and failing grades. This letter can become a valuable document in a families history.
Second, the child takes this letter to his Language Arts classes where it is used to give them ideas as they write a letter to themselves as to what they hope to accomplish in their lives, and in middle school.
Third, both these letters are sealed into the same envelope and placed into the School Archive, a 500+ pound vault bolted to the floor in the school lobby under a spotlight. The letter stays there during middle school.
Fourth, after a period of time, three years in middle school and four years in high school, the letters are pulled out, read, with new letters written , returning again to step one above. The only difference is that now you focus on goals for 10 years into the future. What do you hope you child is doing in 10 years? The child writes about their own personal goals for 10 years into the future.
Fifth step is 10 years after leaving middle school, or high school, when there is a class reunion. Everyone is invited back to the opening of the safe and a party. Then they are also invited to speak with the then current students about their recommendations for success. They are warned to prepare for question such as “What would you do differently if you were 13 again?”
This same patters is then again repeated in high school beginning with the writing in the 9th grade, and the final letter looking 10 years into the future as seniors.
Since this project started the graduation rates have improved significantly at both high schools, going from 33% to 62% at one of the schools. They both are in the top 1/3 of schools in Dallas relative to their graduation rates. See http://schoolarchiveproject.blogspot.com/2010/12/school-archive-project-...
Submitted by William T. (not verified) on Mon, 02/06/2012 - 22:45.
Are they real schools or charters??
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