Keeping youth in school: a follow-up report

Imagine yourself a 14-year-old black girl, seventh in a single parent family of 12 sisters.

Imagine growing up on welfare and living in one of Washington, D.C.'s most violent and drug-infested housing projects. Imagine being taken away for three years because of your mother's excessive drinking ... being in elementary school for six years and failing the fourth grade three times ... your own mother telling you that you're dumb and ugly. And imagine that all of your older sisters dropped out of school when they were 13, and four of them became teen mothers.

Annette needs no imagination to round out this scenario. For her, this is real life. If you were Annette, what reasons would you have to stay in school and complete your high school education?

Annette is a part of the tragic scene in which some 600,000 to 700,000 youngsters across the United States will drop out of school this year. In the past decade, concern has focused on the apparent inability of parents and schools to stem the high drop-out rate among high school students, which is estimated at 26 percent nationally but is as high as 40 percent in many cities. The latest study by the District of Columbia Public Education Commission found that the school drop-out rate in Washinton, D.C. in 1989 was over 40 percent and that many youths dropped out while they were still in junior high school. If current trends are not changed, the population dependent upon public assistance will become increasingly larger.

In 1987, Annette joined a new project designed to halt the school dropout trend. CaRed "Keep Youth in School," the 3-year research and demonstration project, which was funded by the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children, Youth and Families, targeted 12- to 15-year-old minority youth in foster care in Washington, D.C. who were at risk of dropping out of school. Conducted under a grant to the Catholic University of America, the project was housed at the National Catholic School of Social Service and cosponsored by Family and Child Services of Washington, D.C., the District of Columbia Department of Human Services, and the Marriott Corporation.

The project used peer mentors-under -graduate students at Catholic University -and employment training and incentives to encourage positive attitudes toward school, improve the youths' school attendance, and enhance their work skills. A detailed description of these strategies, together with an overview of the program's first year of operation, was featured in the July-August 1987 issue of CHILDREN TODAY (see "Keeping Youth in School: A Public Private Collaboration" by Sylvia Lee, Shirley Bryant, Nancy Noonan and Elizasbeth Plionis). This follow-up article presents findings from the project evaluation and discusses what we have learned over the past three years in developing this practice model to address the drop-out problem among high-risk youth in an urban community.

How effective was the project in keeping the youths in school? Of the 97 youths who participated since 1986, only six are known to have dropped out. Annette is not among them. She currently attends special education classes at an ungraded school-and receives plenty of support from the two peer mentors who work with her and her younger siblings.

Of the six who dropped out of school, two joined the Job Corps; two are studying for the G.E.D.; one has obtained a G. E. D. and gone on to college; and one has worked full-time for more than a year since dropping out of school.

As of September 1989, nine project participants have graduated from high school, and three have enrolled in college. The Youths

When they entered the project, the youths were either living in foster family homes or group homes, or they had just recently returned to their own biological parents from foster homes or group homes. They had volunteered to participate, and they could terminate their involvement at any time. Agreement to participate was also obtained from their group home counselors or foster parents.

With the exception of 10 youths during the first year and one during the second, the participants were all betweenthe ages of 12 and 15 when they were accepted into the project. Of the 97 official participants, 10 were superficially involved while 87 were active participants. These 87 youths established and maintained relationships with their peer mentors and participated in project incentive programs.

Among the 97 youths, 94 were black, two were Hispanic and one, Asian. Fifty were female. They came from the inner city, and the majority of them continued to live in the inner city. With a few exceptions, all attended public schools. Their living situations as of September 1989 were as follows: 10 were in independent living; eight had returned to biological parents; five were in restrictive residential settings because of serious emotional or behavioral problems; two were in detention 15 were in group homes; 57 were in foster homes.

Although there have been many changes in the youths' living arrangements over the past three years, the project was able to follow them until further contacts became impossible because of restrictive residential placements geographic location, family disappearance, or refusal of services by their new guardians. By September 1989, 47 youths were still actively participating in the project.

Data on the participants were collected through surveys, observations, personal interviews, and periodic analysis of the youths' school report cards. An analysis of their quarterly grades revealed that after the first year 42 percent improved their grades each marking period, and that 24 percent improved in one or two of the marking periods. The most significant grade change (the statistical significance level reached .001) took place in the third quarter of each academic year, perhaps due to the fact that the youths usually had formed close relationships with their mentors by that time. The significance level of grade change usually dropped in the fourth quarter as the mentors left for summer vacation in the early part of May while the youths were still in school.

Studies have shown that there is a direct relationship between school attendance and school dropout, I and this relationship was also confirmed by the project. It was found that youths who had excessive absenteeism from school would lag behind in grade placement and eventually drop out. In four cases, the youths were referred by social workers, but they had unofficially dropped out of school long ago.

Although attendance was noted on report cards, the attendance records were often inaccurate or incomplete. While attendance records might reflect reports to homerooms, they were not necessarily indications of classroom attendance. Moreover, teachers were often inconsistent in recording students' classroom attendance. Thus, information on the youths' school attendance was derived mainly from reports from their primary caretakers and peer mentors who saw them every week.

Truancy was widespread among project youths, especially those who lived in group homes during the first year of the project. However, with the exception of a few youths, all attended school regularly in the second and third years. In fact, one youth who was chronically truant from school in the past had a perfect attendance in the third year.

Reasons for truancy were usually related to behavioral problems-running away, selling drugs, and stealing cars, for example-and to inadequate adult supervision. Teen pregnancy (nine girls over the three years became pregnant) also affected school attendance.

A study of 42 project youths in spring 1988 found that 22, or 52 percent, were in age-appropriate grades; eight were in lower grades; 10 in higher grades; and two in ungraded classes. However, an independent educational test measuring basic educational skills revealed an entirely different picture. It revealed that 29 youths (69 percent) were significantly behind their grade level in reading lagging, on average, by almost four years-twice as far behind as those most likely to drop out of school, according to well-documented studies in the field. Additionally, 31 (74 percent) were behind in math. Among this group, the mean number of years of grade retardation was 2.4. The discrepancy between basic skill level and grade placement level suggests that perhaps many youths are inappropriately placed, or are not receiving needed services. Peer Mentors

Between October 1986 and September 1989, more than 100 under-graduates served as friends, tutors and counselors to one or two youths. Over the 3-year period, however, there has been a significant change in the project's ability to retain peer mentors. While during the first two years mentors usually stayed in the program for one semester to one year, by the end of the third academic year (June 1989), 42 mentors were actively involved. Six left the project because of graduation, but the remainder expressed a willingness to continue for at least another year.

This enhanced retention rate can be attributed to four factors: project staff's increased skill in selecting and working with peer mentors; close supervision and training of the mentors; "backup" services (accompanying the mentors to conferences with foster care providers, for example) to enhance their confidence in working with their youths; and the promotion of cohesion among mentors through the formation of mutual support groups, periodic social gatherings, and recognition through items in bimonthly newsletters. Employment Training and Incentives

The incentive program for youths under age 16 offered guest speakers, sport contests, and such group activities as camping and mountain climbing. A newsletter, entitled "Youth Today," was produced several times a year to recognize program participants who were doing well in school and participated in extracurricular activities. An awards ceremony was held twice a year-at the end of the first semester and during the summer when school was over-to reward them for their outstanding academic improvements and continued interest in the project.

When the youths reached age 16, they were assured of jobs. Initially, they were placed in entry level positions within the Marriott Corporation's restaurant division (which includes Roy Rogers, Hot Shoppes, and Bob's Big Boy restaurants). The work sites were either near their homes or were accessible by public transportation.

Between 1986 and 1989, 44 youths reached age 16 and thus became eligible for employment training. Of these, 19 (43 percent) chose not to participate. Twenty-five (57 percent) were interviewed and all were offered jobs. However, six youths never started to work after being hired, and four worked one month or less. Six youths worked from one to six months, three worked from six months to a year, and six youths-all female-worked a year or more. At least seven of those who worked six months or longer have since moved to sales or to better paid restaurant jobs.

Why didn't more of the youths have a successful employment training experience? An examination of the 29 youths who chose not to participate, never started to work after jobs were offered, or worked a month or less found that six had other jobs and that two wanted to give their full attention to school. The following barriers to exployment were identified for the remaining 21 youths: unwillingness to accept entry-level positions in the fastfood restaurants; unrealistic expectations about employment; teen pregnancy; underground employment (selling drugs); deficient educational and vocational skills; and failure to assemble the required documents (birth certificate, social security number, and picture I.D.) to certify work eligibility in this country. Qualitative Changes By far the most significant change among project youths was their future. Although truancy was prevalent during the first year, by the third year it had become an accepted norm within the group that one must attend school, do homework, and graduate. This change was perhaps due to several reasons. First, since the youths shared similar backgrounds and life experiences, a unique culture emerged as a natural group phenomenon over time. Second, the peer mentors provided role models. Third, the youths were nurtured in a safe social environment, the university campus, which is conducive to academic achievement and personal development. Finally, the project social workers as well as the primary caretakers (group home counselors and foster parents) became more involved in the youths' education through numerous contacts with the project. Implications

Based on our experiences and findings it is safe to conclude that youths in foster care are at risk of dropping out of school. Their education has frequently been either neglected or interrupted before, during and after they entered the foster care system. Their basic skills in reading and math are far behind their grade placement level, and many are in need of special education. Children in foster care should be routinely tested so that they can receive timely assistance.

Minority youths in foster care, like their urban peers, are also at risk of becoming involved in illegal activities because of their unwillingness to accept entry-level jobs that they perceive as demeaning and because of an everexpanding drug trade in their neighborhoods.

The "Keep Youth in School" project has demonstrated that the peer mentors and the employment training and incentive aspects of the program were effective ways of motivating youths to stay in school. The undergraduate college students, both black and white, who served as peer mentors were found to be effective as agents for change and capable tutors and role models for urban minority youth.

The project also found that selection of peer mentors should be based on students' qualifications-academic performance attitudes, values, interests, and the capacity to care for othersrather than financial need, although the stipends that the project provided were essential to college students who needed funds for gifts, travel and doing things with their youths.

Although the Marriott Corp. had made an immense contribution to the project, linkage with employers in addition to fast-food restaurants and maintenance outfits should be established to provide youths with optional career paths and occupational mobility. More meaningful and acceptable employment opportunities might perhaps help some youths avoid the temptation of drugs.

The incentive program has expanded the youths' support system to include a network of youths in foster care, promoting mutual support and lessening the stigma attached to being in foster care. By including their friends and family members in project activities, it also enhanced their relationships with,. significant persons in their lives.

In summary, the project has completed a replicable model to help urban youths, aged 12 to 15, who are at risk of dropping out of school. It is important to note that the success of this project depended largely upon support from the collaborating agencies, as well as the dedication of primary care workers, to provide youths with supervision and stable home environments. The project not only benefited the youths but also positively affected the young college students. The friendships they formed with each other helped to break down barriers between class and race. The quality of their relationships can best be described by a statement made by one of the mentors in a survey:

"My youth mentor was one of my best friends in my first year of college. We yelled, we screamed, we fought, but underneath it all, we knew what we were saying to each other. We loved each other. We had our ups and downs but we always seemed to make it through them. We did not have much time but I think that we achieved a strong bond. "

In a society that values education as the key to opportunity, it is essential that there be efforts designed to support the nation's most disadvantaged youths in achieving all they can, and equipping them with the necessary skills and education to become a successful generation.

COPYRIGHT 1990 U.S. Government Printing Office
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group