[Editor's Note: This is a companion article to the 2007 Annual Report]
By DUANE M. ELLING
Nineteen-year-old Katie McGuigan, with her self-described “funky fashion sense,” looks like a typical young student walking the campus of Lansing (Michigan) Community College (LCC). And given the enthusiasm with which she talks about her education, it’s hard to imagine that just months before she had been labeled a high school dropout.
A series of health-related issues led Katie to abandon her studies in 2006 when she was a high school junior.
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| Katie McGuigan |
As her physical condition improved and she considered returning to school, she realized that she felt disconnected from the traditional education system.
“I knew that I needed, and wanted, to earn my high school diploma and go to college, but I wasn’t sure what my next steps should be. I felt kind of lost.”
Katie charted a new course for her life in late 2007 after friends introduced her to the High School Diploma Completion Initiative (HSDCI) at LCC.
The initiative provides youth ages 16- to- 19 years who have dropped out of school the opportunity to obtain their high school diploma, while simultaneously earning college credits toward an associate degree or occupational certificate.
Participants attending classes at LCC have access to a range of services, including academic tutoring, individual and group counseling, and help with meeting basic needs, such as food and transportation.
The initiative was launched in 2006 by the LCC and three area intermediate school districts from Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties. Since then, 80 students have enrolled, with 26 earning their high school diplomas and continuing on to employment or further study.
Mott Foundation support for the initiative, via its Pathways Out of Poverty program, has totaled $150,000 since 2007. That grantmaking reflects the Foundation’s belief in the importance of engaging vulnerable youth in educational and career opportunities.
Young people such as Katie who drop out of school are a national concern. A 2008 report by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center — a Mott grantee based in Bethesda, Maryland — estimates that roughly three out of 10 students in this country currently fail to finish high school. Research suggests that graduation rates are even lower among youth from low-income and minority households.
And with employers increasingly seeking workers who have at least some college-level education, these young people are likely to find themselves ill-equipped for success in the nation’s labor market.
Tracey Taylor, director of the HSDCI, says helping high school dropouts to re-engage with their education and prepare for future careers requires an understanding that “there isn’t a ‘one-size-fits-all’ model for intervention.
“Programs need to adapt to the unique needs of each young person, not the other way around,” she said.
Helping participants overcome a mindset of failure and hopelessness is also key.
“Many young people come to us feeling like they’ve fallen behind in life,” Taylor said. “Our vision is to help them realize that they have the opportunity, and the power, to create a fresh start.”
The impact of that approach is evident among many HSDCI participants, including Katie.
Since enrolling in January 2008, she has started taking classes that count toward her high school graduation requirements, and expects to receive her diploma in May 2009. She has also begun earning college credits for a planned associate degree in fashion and hopes to obtain a related internship this summer in event production and set design.
While the work needed to reach those goals may be substantial, Katie is confident in her ability to see it through.
“Some people might look at me and say, ‘She’s just a high school dropout; she doesn’t have what it takes to get anywhere in life.’ But I’m proving to the world, and to myself, that I do have what it takes. That’s something to feel good about.”