Second chances for more than 100 JCPS dropouts
More than 100 former Jefferson County Public Schools students who dropped out but are under the age of 18 have been re-enrolled in classes this school year, according to data just released by the district.
The state's largest school district has been making a push to bring back dropouts in light of a new state law that raised the dropout age from 16 to 18.
Students who had previously dropped out but are still under the age of 18 are required to come back to school under the law or face possible truancy charges, which means JCPS has had to work to track down teens who had left school and to find them a spot in a system they'd already once forsworn.
"I'm ecstatic how many we've been able to bring back," said Theresa Whitlow, a student response team coordinator with JCPS.
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JCPS has identified 217 dropouts who are or were still under the age of 18. Of those, 41 have returned to their resides schools, 62 signed up for an alternative school or online classes with the district, seven opted to home school and 24 were verified as enrolled in other schools outside of JCPS, according to district numbers.
The largest number of JCPS re-enrollments were to Jefferson County High School or the district's eSchool, followed by Liberty High. Breckenridge Metro and Southern High School added seven re-enrolled dropouts each.
That leaves 83 students identified who are not enrolled or who have refused to enroll, although JCPS said it is still working to get more students enrolled.
"I'm not satisfied we don't have all 217 re-enrolled, but we're still looking to bring more back," said Brent Lynch, JCPS' director of pupil personnel.
The idea of raising the dropout age, championed by Gov. Steve Beshear and his wife, was to encourage students to graduate and to underscore the importance of education. The law did not grandfather in students who had already dropped out and were still under 18, meaning that those students who don't re-enroll are in violation of the law and could potentially be brought to court.
Lynch said JCPS "didn't know what to expect" with the change in state law. For instance, he said he thought more students would opt to homeschool. And estimates of how many students would need to be brought back changed as JCPS prepared for the change.
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JCPS launched a poster campaign last spring to urge students against quitting school and to tell people about the change in the law.
School and district staff spent the summer trying to find more students who had dropped out and getting them re-enrolled, enlisting the help of social services providers and public organizations to spread the word. Students who had dropped out were tracked down by administrators through phone calls, letters and visits to their homes.
Whitlow said the issue now is ensuring JCPS is doing everything it can to help these at-risk students, including some who are far behind in classes or may have complicated home situations.
She said she recently met with a 17-year-old who had two small children and only half of a high school credit. Kentucky's minimum high school graduation requirements mandate a total of at least 22 credits.
JCPS staff will be giving a presentation to the school board Monday regarding its efforts to bring back dropouts and to provide them with supports and options.
Whitlow said she knows how difficult it can be for some students, saying she herself dropped out of school in the eighth grade. She said the higher dropout age, which went into effect in Jefferson County in July, may have been the push some needed to return.
Damiya Tooley, who recently went back to school after having dropped out for about a year, praised Whitlow for her help getting re-enrolled in school.
Tooley said she dropped out of school at 16, saying she didn't feel that she was going to make it to graduation and just didn't want to try any longer.
But she said she's since realized she needs to go back to school — both for herself and for her 4-year-old daughter, Tamiya.
"I don't want her thinking it's OK to drop out of school," Tooley said. So with Whitlow's help, Tooley re-enrolled this school year, re-starting school about a month before she turned 18.
"Now my 4-year-old asks me every day, 'How was school?' " Tooley said.
Tooley has already increased her number of credits from eight to 13 during her time at Minor Daniels Academy. She hopes to be able to get enough credits this year to graduate in the spring, and is working in the evenings on online classes to make it happen. She wants to continue on to college and study business management.
"I realized you can't get anywhere without a high school diploma," Tooley said.
Tooley said she likes the idea of the higher dropout age, although she wasn't aware of it when she re-enrolled.
"They're supposed to say no child left behind and all that, but to me, there are plenty of students left behind," she said, ticking off the names of some friends who dropped out of school about the same time as she did. "Sixteen comes quick ... it's good if you need to be 18 before you make that decision."
Reporter Allison Ross can be reached at (502) 582-4241. Follow the Courier-Journal’s education team on Facebook at Facebook.com/SchooledCJ.
HIGHLIGHTS
•The law says students who had dropped out but are still under 18 must return to school or face possible truancy charges,
•JCPS staff will be giving a presentation to the school board Monday regarding the district's efforts to bring back dropouts and to provide them with supports and options.
•JCPS identified 217 dropouts who are or were still under the age of 18.