Project Second Chance: Dropouts in America

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I'm sorry, I'm very sorry, I'm very sorry, I'm sorry, didn't get well with theいました The cost of dropping out, psychologically, economically and culturally, to these people and to this nation is staggering. The grim and worsening statistic is that across the United States today, one out of four teenagers who enter high school doesn't graduate. In some cities such as Boston, over half the students entering high school never finish. Many of these dropouts face a dead -end job, a dead -end future. In this report, you will see some special projects in different parts of the country that are helping, helping dropouts once they decide to get a high school diploma, or an equivalent certificate commonly called a GED. We'll meet former dropouts in these special projects in small towns in the Midwest, and in the South, and in urban centers of the Northeast. We'll visit a program in California that is aimed at preventing students from dropping out,

and we'll see a nationwide project to help dropouts get their diplomas through television. We begin in New York City's Harlem, with the Life Project. Forty percent of the dropouts in America today are pregnant teenagers. However, because of the Life Project, these young mothers can continue their education. When I found that I was pregnant, it was a big shock. You know, it was a real shock. I didn't want to believe it. Because I knew that I had, that I was skin -rated, take on a responsibility, that I had, you know I had to care for her, make sure she had everything. You know, where else I only care for myself, you know. I can hang out, I can go ahead, I can go there. Now, that's limited. I can't do that anymore, okay? I couldn't stay in my

old school, but I feel comfortable in my old school, because everybody looking at you are funny, saying she having a baby, and she young, you know. So, I talked to the social worker in my old school, and she told me about this school I had. So, when I came to check it out for us, then I liked it, so I stayed. With so many children having children, the New York Board of Education decided that money spent on educating these young mothers today would be a signed investment in their future, and in the community's well -being. In inner -city neighborhoods like Harlem, the largest group of people on welfare is single mothers and their children. New York City has five high schools in the life project to help pregnant teenagers and young mothers learn more than academics. One such school is on a quiet side street in one of Harlem's poorest sections. We feel that

whatever problem that the young lady has, we try to address that problem. Most of them come in with financial problems. The first thing we have to do is to help them to get some help with the babies. Many of them have boyfriend problems, and of course many of them have academic problems. The life project combines academic classroom work with training the teenagers in child rearing. A daycare facility in the school makes it easier for the students to attend classes and spend time with their children. 95 % of the young women in this school get their diplomas. Michelle, would you select one of the topics that's up on the board? My first child. How would we begin on composition of all my first child? How would you begin that? My first child is a boy. He's very active. I don't plan to have any more, so my first child probably be my last.

That would be how it would sound off of a composition. The girls report that prior to coming to this school, they are hanging out in their schools. They have no goals for themselves. Once they become pregnant, then they realize they must find some school in which they can learn some parenting skills. So they look for this type of school. Well, I'm 17 years old. I grew up here in New York, Manhattan. I'm in high school. I'm leaving here in September. I'm going to take my GD and hopefully if I pass it, I'm going to go to college. I'm going to take up law and computers. My daughter. I'm going to pick up that lunch time. I'll be missing her sometimes. We deal with them at lunch time, we

feed them. And then after lunch, we take them back. We tell them what they ate for lunch. And when was they last following? And if they pampered the shame? And then we leave from there and we go back to class until 255, then we go pick them up again. This changed my life a lot. The night I had something that I know that I have to take care of. And bring her up in a right way, you know. Make sure she'll make the same mistake that I made so she won't have to go for lunch. We learned that we could not have a life program without the support of the natural families. So part of what we do here is to work with the natural families along with the adolescent mothers. Even though she is a mother, she's still an adolescent. And she needs to develop as an adolescent. Sometimes there are families, six members

living in two bedrooms. The young mother does not have enough space to study. She comes home with her baby, she's tired. She's cramped in with her family. She doesn't have a chance to get away from her family. We ask the parents, for instance, we ask the parents to work with this young mother. Give her a chance to get out of the afternoon away from the baby. This school has helped me continue my education. And it helped me as far as day care is concerned for my daughter. So I don't have to be running around looking for a baby sitter. They help you with family problems. I went in the finish school if I hadn't known about this school. What we're trying to do is give the girls coping skills and

academic skills and social skills. So that she can manage her life and manage the life of her child. We're hoping that she will not end up on welfare. That's the whole purpose of this is to help her to complete her education so that she can go on and become a responsible adult. I think more people, my age, that's in the predicament like me, should go to school and finish their education. You don't think it's an education? You ain't going nowhere. You ain't going to get a good paying job. And a baby is expensive. Having a baby is hard work. So they should finish their education. I feel they should. I love these girls. They respond so well to the help they're giving them. And you can see the growth over a period of time. You can see how they come in,

unsure themselves, not know how to handle themselves, nor their babies. And you can see the confidence they have when they leave here. And I feel very proud of them. A very different kind of project for high school dropouts is taking place on work sites in some American communities. A few companies give their workers a chance to get the education they missed because they dropped out of high school. Workers like Dennis in Paragul of Arkansas. I have worked at Monroe Auto Equipment for a little over 13 years. When I hired in at Monroe, they knew I didn't have a diploma. I've held all kinds of jobs and positions at Monroe. Well, now they've changed policies for the simple reason they've gone to computers and automation. I wanted a troubleshooters job on what they call the automatic lines. I was rejected on that job

for the simple reason I did not have a diploma. And yet I had worked all up and down the line and knew, you know, quite a bit about it. But the diploma part held me back. And it made me mad when they told me the reason why. That is why I'm getting my GED. Like many young men of his generation, Dennis rebelled against the school system. And now regrets his youthful stubbornness. If Amber done the things I had done, I hope I don't find out, you know, because I see my mistakes and realize what I had done. Amber, to me, is the most important thing in my life. She's my daughter. And I can see, you know, my mistakes. And me, school, I push it to her with everything I got. And I try to tell her, you know, how important education is. There you go. All right, look at that. Woo, boy. That's a nice one. How

about that? Same? Well, you caught that one, didn't you? Well, I like that, don't you? It's putting back on. He's kind of small like you, okay? Woo. Well, I got a Facebook of him, too. Spinning back. Yeah. You liking him? You want petting? Well, petting. You want a bunch? See there? Softening. Okay, it's putting back. Here we go. I think since Dennis has got a little girl in that, you know, he's remarried. I think he's, uh, he's grew up a lot. He's got more responsibility. And he wants to better himself in any way that he can. I don't think I even caught one, did I? Who caught him? Well, tell her. Who caught him fish? Who caught the biggest one? No. No idea, didn't I? Are you sure? Yeah. He wants to go forward now. And he wants his little girl, you know, to do good.

He was a very good child for a boy. He was mischievous. Had a lot of tees in the body. But he would mind real good. And I was really proud of him. And he just never did like school the last year. And I tried to tell him that he need this education, that education is something that once you get, no one can take away. But for Dennis, that message fell on deaf ears. He would have gotten his diploma from Oak Grove High School back in 1972. His English teacher recalls what happened. Dennis is one of the several students that I do remember. Dennis was not exactly a favorite student of mine, but he wasn't the most devastating student I ever had either. I just never thought I was a school person. I was always a type. I wanted to be doing something. When they sent me in a classroom, and I had to sit there. And to me, the teacher was the most born as thing in the world. You don't have to sit there and listen to him. You know, I got more enjoyment

out of making a teacher mad by cracking a joke and something serious than, you know, anybody. And I just couldn't stand the point of just being tied down, sitting in a desk in a classroom. And I used to go to school and talk with the teachers. And they always said, he could do better. He could do better. You know, and we knew he could, but we just couldn't get him to do it. We just was like, we could pour a hair out, because we didn't know what to do with him. And he had a friend that, like, played hook. He was just boys, country boys. I'd like to play hook from school. And they missed a lot of school on that account. To get past the teachers, they made you bring a written statement from your parents, which was real easy for me to get by, because I sit for hours upon hours practicing my mom and dad's signature. And I got to where I could do it to the tea, and there never was no questions. I'd walk in, let on the principal's desk, or in, and walk out. He did not like to write. In fact, he just quietly and politely refused to write. He didn't throw a fit. He didn't give me any trouble. He just wouldn't do it.

We were supposed to turn in a term paper our graduation year. She give me, I know, three or four chances to do that term paper. And I kept telling her, Ms. Wells, I ain't sitting down and writing no five, six pages for you or nobody else. She told me, she said, Dennis, if you don't, I'm going to have to flunk you. I said, big deal. And life, I said, flunk me. You know, that's just that attitude I had. And we had a long talk about it. And I was upset, and I think, maybe he was then. Maybe he realized that, you know, he wasn't going to graduate. And I think then it maybe had dawned on him. That he should have done better. At first, Dennis thought he was doing better by earning what he considered good money in a local store. But the job didn't last. And Dennis found a low -paying position at Monroe Auto. That's where he is today. And now that he wants a job promotion, he needs that high school

diploma. He's sworn back in 1972. What his parents and school couldn't convince him to do, Monroe Auto Management is forcing him to do. With the factory getting computerized and automated, better educated workers are needed to help meet foreign competition. We had Monroe, very reluctant, so I recognized the fact that to reach our goals, everyone had to be able to understand those goals. And we had several people that were not able to do that. Therefore, we recognized that we need to do something in the plant. So we contacted some people and set up GED classes so that we could further our people's education because we want to keep the people we've got today. This time, we've got 64 people involved in a GED program. Another thing that costs the employee is for the books. We make everything else available. We supply the employees and then we supply them. Our employees are very responsive. They've been very excited, the fact that the company cares enough about them that we will go to the trouble to

supply those things for them. About the San Francisco sunken lands. It's a fishing area. I've been there. It's a good fishing. Yeah, I'm good. Did you bring them a lot of fish? I went through most of them back. I didn't want to have to clean them. Yes. The job I'm doing now is what they call inventory returns. You know, when you stand there for eight hours in one spot, doing the same thing day in and day out, no different routine whatsoever. Troubleshooter. Now you're talking a whole new ball game. The troubleshooter is responsible for keeping the line run. My goal is, right now, is to work into the troubleshooter's job. A lot of people wouldn't have the job. They say it don't pay enough. There's too much headache and too much responsibility. They just, they don't want nothing to do with it. For me, I've always been a type, you know, that I guess kind of goes looking for trouble. You know, I love it. You know, the excitement. If Dennis gets his GED certificate, and he

is successful, he does all of the things that we expect. All is our procedures. All is our rules and regulations. Yes, he can be. Troubleshooter. If you don't pick up and learn, you know, get this GED, you know, pretty soon you're just going to be out on the streets looking for a job. The Japanese market is really taking a lot of the jobs. And the American industries is having to really, you know, automate and go to computers and order compete. And the kids in school nowadays may not realize it. But if they don't get that education, it's not like the old saying anybody can work in a factory because it's not so. And I can prove that by just getting turned down for a job here two weeks ago. Everybody cannot do a factory job anymore because of the automation and computers. After this many years, it's really pleasant to hear that he's going for his GED. Go for it. And I'm sure he can make it. And I think now that his

attitude will allow him to make it. There are some high school dropouts who take many years longer than Dennis to do something about it. Hazel Wagner and Edgar Wisconsin raised nearly all her 13 children before taking care of unfinished business. Almost one third of women over 50 in this country never finished high school. Our children are all through high school. Six of them have gone through college. The 13th child is not a freshman in high school. As for their education, there was never a question that they would quit and go to work because of the fact that I had no high school education. It was very important for us to see that they had one. And they were all given the opportunity to go on to school if they wanted. It was their choice. When I first started school

and I told them about it that I was going, well, well, mother, what are you going to learn? I said, well, basically just to get through high school, get the GED. It was sort of a shock seeing my, what, 60 -year -old mother going to school the same time I am. And I don't know. I was sort of happy that she went back because she had talked about it for, I don't know how many years. Hazel decided to enroll in the gold program at an adult education center where she planned to take courses for the GED. But after that decision, the next step wasn't easy. The morning I was supposed to go over there and sign the papers and take these few examinations. I drove over there. And I parked my car the farthest from the door you could find because, well, it would give me time to think to get to the door. I got to the door. I couldn't walk in the door. When Hazel

came to NCTI, she probably had the same problem many people have when they try to come into an educational setting after being away from it for a long time. The most difficult thing she had to do was to turn the knob on the door to enter. In fact, as I recall, she not only came up to that door but turned around and went over to the university center to get her son as moral support so that she could walk through the door. I got a call from my mom saying that she was going to go over to sign up for a GED but she was scared to go into the door. She didn't know how people would react to an older lady coming in to get a diploma that she should have gotten a while ago. She asked me what I was doing if I'd come along with her. Well, I agreed because she's my mom and

I had some things to do over there anyways. The next morning I got up, I went to school and I could go in the door by myself. Oh, was that a thrill? For the first two weeks, I went over to NCTI with the idea of I'm filling up my time, you know. But after I was there two weeks, oh, this is a terrific place. My whole concept of the thing changed. And I found out the more that they were teaching me, the more I wanted to learn. I still feel this way. I think there's so many marvelous things over there and I just really can't put it into words. It's so exciting, really. I didn't ever go to high school. I just went as far as the eighth grade. And I don't ever remember being given the choice. Would you like to go or would you not like to go? I guess it was just taken for granted I would go out and find something to do to help the

family. When I got married, I really expected just to stay home and take care of my family, which I have always loved. I have, I loved my job as bringing up the kids and I have never regretted staying home and doing it. When my husband retired, we had discussed him going to school and myself going to the GED program. Well, it didn't work out that way. So when he got ill, it was kind of, again, we kind of put it aside. But after his death, I had a lot of time on my hands. It was very hard to stay by myself. It was a sad time in my life. And when they offered the GED program up at the high school here in town, I decided, okay, this I'm going, this I can do now, I can do this for myself. Good morning, Hazel. Good morning now. How are you doing?

Pretty good. In the goal program at NCTI, I work in the reading area, particularly working with reading skills and study skills. I work with students who cannot read it all all the way on up through people who have a fairly good level of sophistication in reading but want to get to read faster. The program is individualized and each student starts at the place where he's at. And how to take notes. Do you think it's possible for you to teach me this? You've been out of school for a while, haven't you? Yes, for a little while. Oh, the teachers are terrific at the goal lab. They treat you when you come in there like you are a special person. Here is somebody that is important and we can help them. And they just make you feel basically very comfortable. And I think that's a great part of going back there. I

did study a lot alone but I also have a son who is 14 and a grandson who is 16. We had a lot of fun with studying because there were things that I would be doing that they would also be doing in high school. And I'm hoping that they were both kind of proud of me to be working with me and helping me. And they did help me a lot because there were things that I was learning that they already knew. How do I find out to calculate the grocery's profits? Be paid the smudge per dozen. I have no idea why we're doing here. Okay, what time is that number? Three times a dozen. Yes. And you add to the other days? Times 12. So you do that for every one of them? Yes. I think any woman who is married independent like I was should at an earlier age than I myself am start looking at something to do because I found out the hard way that

things happen fast. Make sure that you are qualified to do something when you are left alone because being left alone and not knowing what to do or which way to turn is terrible. When I go to work, the job that I have is cleaning a medical center. With this GED, I can do something more advanced. I've always dreamed to work in a nursing home. It is going to help me get into that job at that nursing home where I couldn't have before. With the job I have now cleaning, I am there alone all the time. So when you want to talk to someone, you talk to yourself. And basically, I love people. And this is what I'm going to like about it. It's going to get me out among people. You know, I've had a lot of interesting experiences in my life. And there have been a lot of exciting things

happened. And I guess basically, I felt now I have done it. I can do anything now. I have this piece of paper in my hand. I can do now things that weren't available for me before. And it was a terrific feeling. Oh boy. I walked on cloud nine for a couple days. It was just terrific. In Metropolitan, New York, there is a special high school available to students from all over the city. Unlike Dennis and Hazel, these students have in common the experience of dropping out or getting kicked out of another school because of drug use, truancy, or other severe behavior problems. A special feature of this program is personal and group counseling. Completing his senior year at Middle College High School is 19 -year -old Chris.

Before Middle College, I was in junior high school. I was in three junior high schools. Junior high school, 119, I graduated from there. Before that, I was in junior high school, 93, which is right in the neighborhood. I was there for three days. And before that, I was in junior high school, 73. And that's where I had a lot of my problems. I was about 14 years old, and I was trying to grow up, and I was trying to establish my independence. My mother had a lot of problems. She has a boyfriend, and she's always been wrapped up with her life. And my brother couldn't deal with that, and he got involved in drugs, and shortly after he got involved, I got involved. And school became unimportant. The first time I met Chris, I remember him being extremely confused. He was almost incoherent. He was probably high at the time. As he told me later, he spent a lot of time getting high. He was hardly going to class. He dropped into school once in a while.

He didn't always sleep at home. He slept at friend's houses. He slept out on the street sometimes. He had tremendous difficulty at home. He really had a hard time starting out in life. I couldn't concentrate on my schoolwork. I was doing things to get myself in trouble, and all they were doing was spending me or demoting me. It didn't seem like anyone was really concerned. No one really said, why can't you concentrate on your schoolwork or why aren't you coming in? I was truing for a long time. I spent a lot of time on corners hanging out, getting high. I spent a lot of time just bombing around because that's what everybody was doing. And that was the thing to do at the time. And it made me feel cool. I made me feel like part of the group. At middle college high school, Chris found a different kind of group. Students getting

personal attention from counselors and teachers who treat them as individuals. For the first time in several years, Chris was able to turn off drugs and focus on schoolwork. One of the very special features of middle college high school is that it's part of college. The school is totally integrated into the college. We have high school students, 15, 16, 17, 18 years old, going to school with college students. Adolescents traditionally can get a little bit out of hand behaviorally. The fact that they go to school with older students tends to modify this behavior. It's a little bit difficult to run around the whole way when next door is a college classroom. Here, everybody knows my name in school. I'm very close to one of the counselors, but Rosenberg. We've been talking for about two and a half years. I don't consider him a counselor, I consider him a friend. This is also your third high school else. Many students in this school at any given time are part of

a group. Kids need to feel that they can talk to somebody. Coming into a group is very important to them. They have an opportunity to talk with their peers and with a concerned adult to talk about their lives and what things concern them. I think the teachers and the staff they want to see kids succeed here, and I think that's what makes the school work. If I was to ever get thrown out of here for any reason, I'd go to another high school for any reason, I wouldn't be able to survive. What is it about this school that allows you to survive? Because I'm able to be me. I don't have to put up a front for everybody to make them think that I'm somebody that I'm not. I was talking to Isabelle up in the office and she helped me out a lot. It's been helping me out a lot, maybe, and I was talking to my mother, trying to straighten out things between us. I would have dropped that all the time, but I would have been someplace else. As far as you just get to school, you know, just totally get to school. Yeah, school is a full -time job. There is, and sometimes you just

need somebody to get to school. I want to feel like I'm part of a group, like I'm somebody like I count. I want to feel like it matters that I'm there. A lot of times in the other schools I was in, it didn't matter. They didn't care. They were happy to get rid of me. I first had Chris as a student this cycle. He really works, he comes for tutoring after school. He's determined to do well and he is doing well. I think the teachers, the administration, everybody, we value the children as human beings, whether or not they achieve. They're allowed to stay here for a while, quite a while, you know, just to allow them to get their bearings. And just to be fed, you know, things that they need to hear to help their self -esteem to grow. When finally they begin to feel a little better about themselves, then you'll find that they do start coming to class. They do start participating. They do start believing

in themselves. And most of them do make it. Where does it go? Whereas I think if they were in a regular school, a large school, two or three thousand students, they really wouldn't have a chance. They just wouldn't get the attention. I go to school in the daytime and I also go to a gym. I go to a gym an hour a day, six days a week. I think I really go because people don't do drugs. I like to do athletic things. I was never an athletic person since I stopped getting high. I've discovered that you need to be athletic. You need to run around and get your adrenaline flowing. Most of my friends today, a lot of my friends are shooting dope. And when I see them occasionally, they're dying. They look like they're dying. Are you going to talk to someone in the financial aid office to operate your situation? Yeah. High school is just a bridge for me. I may go away to college this week. I'm going to check out a college. I'll spend two days of state at Plattsburg State University.

Especially since they've accepted you. They really? Well, that's what she said. She said it was going to be a fit. You're getting a letter. It's going to play you a fishery. But you've been accepted. So they want you. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I thought you had heard about that. Yeah, you've accepted. So you have to make sure that they're going to be able to pay you full four years of college. One of the big differences between the school and college you're going to be going to, is they have a lot of support, a lot of help there. The differences you have to go and seek it out. You know, they don't go. Yeah. When all the chips were down, when there was no reason for me to stay in school, when it would have been better for me to go and get a job that paid a little more money, I thought to myself, I said, well, you know, I still have a boat. And he's a good support for me. And he can really help me a lot. I think I would have left school if it wasn't for him and people like him. You know, I'm not in the neighborhood, sure. If I go away, I may

get a degree in science. And then join the FOS and learn how to fly. It hopes to be fly shuttle one day or whatever they have in the future. I'd like to be like Captain Kirk from Star Trek and have a ship like that. And go all around and see what it's all about out there. I hope I live a long time. I want to hit 100. And maybe I'll see that ship like Captain Kirk's. You know, I know it's maybe I'll be in it. Maybe I'll be Captain Kirk. That's what I'd like. I lived here for 15 years and it's been a dump for them 15 years. Every time I walk around the corner, all I can hear is fresh. You know, all that boat, you know, reefer. I get tired of hearing that. I mean, when they first said, do you want some boat? You know, I thought I was going to buy a boat. And they would tell me really what it was. You know, I don't deal with that kind of stuff. In the slums of Trenton,

New Jersey, young people face daily pressure to get involved in drugs and crime as one way of escaping from poverty. Also, many students feel abandoned by an educational system they see declining as badly as the neighborhood. After dropping out, they learn how tough it is to get a decent job without a diploma. The Trenton Youth Corps combines the need to earn a good living with the need to complete high school and turn life around for former dropouts such as Patricia and Robert. For one thing, I was too old to sit up in the knife grade at junior one. I was 18 years old in the knife grade. And I got, you know, I've really got tired of it because they used to call me the old man of junior one. But, you know, grandpa and others, I didn't want to hear that. I just quit coming to school. I had gotten pregnant and I dropped out of school. I was starting high school. And then, I got pregnant again.

And I moved in Trenton, into Trenton, New Jersey, well, same thing. And I stayed with my mother for a while. Then I moved away from there. And I came back. I was moved from state to state to city to city, just roaming around having fun. And that was like 10 years ago. The Trenton New Jersey Youth Corps designed to work with high school dropouts between the ages of 16 and 25 to give them work experience and to give them education towards their GED. And as they graduate, then we attempt to find them full -time employment or college or other vocational training. The unique thing about our program is that the students work for four hours out of the day and go to school the other three hours out of the day. And that can be four hours in the afternoon or four hours in the morning. Basically, I think they're very bright. I think they've been turned off to education very early, put in time but got nowhere. And then, when they were old enough and wise enough to figure a way out, they found a way out either by just playing quitting

because they had the courage to do that and their friends were doing it. A lot of the girls became pregnant. It was a good reason to leave school. A lot of the boys were involved in fighting and they were suspended from school or kicked out of the schools back at the junior high school level. The academic problems go all the way back to basic grammar school education. They do not know their fractions, their decimals, their presents, their reading level. Generally, ranges from a fifth grade to a 12th grade level depending on where they ended school. Think of all the numbers that will divide into the number 10. Two. Okay, we'll two go into any of these numbers on the bottom. No. I start everything on an individual basis. When I come across something that the group does not know, everything stops and we pick up the tangents. I have a tendency to be offered five different directions at one time to be doing math with one person, grammar with someone else, maybe I was with someone else and biology with someone else. I just to be able to roll with

whatever happens. No people are treated equally at the same time because different people need different things. By not completing your education at the high school level, you're most certainly increasing your problem with survival skills. What the youth core is designed to do is to teach the student survival skills, especially after they gain their GED. Do I want to hear something? I'm doing concrete. We build a low houses in Trenton, getting ready for people to move into our buy. We're fixing Trenton up all the old houses around. Instead of tearing them down, wasting them will be storing them. Well, Robert is basically like the other students in our program. He does not have a high school diploma and he saw a way to gain his education at the same time, gain work experience. What we have set up with him is for him to enter an apprenticeship program with the general contractor being a sponsor. What will happen is he will work and go to school for three years at the end of that three years. He would be a certified

carpenter. That makes a lot of difference, my job. I'm only one play from getting my GED. And this September, I hope to go to college. Well, they have for two nights a week for four years. I learned to trade better. That's what I want to do. I want to hang on the street somewhere. Before I came in the door, I knew I was on the end of it. Without being, you know, going to set up a dead next day of work. I didn't know. Well, we stress that they're not here for the money. And there are days when they don't work, because they don't work. They don't get paid. If they don't go to school, then they don't get paid for working that day either. It's important to be strict so that the student can see that we have followed certain rules and regulations in our lives to get where we are. And we explain that to them. They don't know that. So this is a stepping stone to them. When they leave the program, they realize that all the rules and regulations that we do have in the strictness does apply to the real world.

I want to work, save my money, go to college for four years, you know, get it over with. Get the job, buy me a house, and, of course, the workshop. Yeah. Patricia is older. She's 25 years old. She was a dropout, and she's been hopping around from different programs. She passed her GED successfully, and we had definitely given her a direction. It's a great program. I did a lot for them. I got my GED. I'm a college, I'm a county community college now. And I like it. It's a lot of pressure, but if you really want something like I do, I want it to then. And I'm still going for it now. There's no big thing. It really is fun. Okay. Eight times four is 32. Three out. Eight times three is 24 plus three is 27. Maybe you just did that. I just did that. So I'll just do it again. Math is very hard for me as my work subject. That's for stopping me

from getting my GED from the first place, of course, two times. But I finally came through it at the third time. Now I have an in college, and it's not really different. It seemed like it's so easy when I took the test, but it's not really easy. It's so hard that someone's subject that I've just never gotten along with. Let me try seven. No, let me try nine. Nine times four is 36. I'm going to college for a few more years here in 26. So by the time I really get all the education that I want and need, I'll probably be around 30. You know, so I might just go on and further, more and more if I like it a lot. It's going well on pretty far. So have you took in the GED test yet? Yes, I took it last month to 15th, I believe. I missed it by four points. Patricia got her GED with the help of the youth court. While in college, she also works part -time for the youth court as a counselor, helping students with their job choices and personal problems. No, but I just quit school last year in March. I got a rent to a less trouble.

Then that caused me to quit school. I was in length grade when I quit last year. But that really messed me up then last year. Getting with the wrong crowd was that it? Yeah, that was it. Just for one night. That's where you know better now. Since you've been in this program, you've been doing pretty well. So far as trouble and all. No trouble whatsoever. This program got me off of probation. I had a probation for two years. This program got me off. In August, I set temper. That's what it cost. You know, when you really get a real job, such as I do, they really look forward to me to be one time and to depend on me. And if I could do more, I should, you know, and sometimes I do. And I love it. The time you put in to helping somebody improve themselves and the benefits that you get back don't always seem to balance out. But to work with 15 students and have one person come up to you at the end of three months and say, you know, you've made a difference in my life.

I am going to be able to take care of my children now in a way that I wasn't taken care of because you've given me some of your values. You've pushed me where I had to be pushed. You've supported me when I was down and you've made a difference. And that makes a difference to me. You know, to know that I have done something constructive. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for New Jersey Youth Corps. Well, few friends on the last one. I wouldn't be here especially for New Jersey Youth Corps. I'm glad I ran into that program because when I first went into it, I was telling me what you had to go through in order to succeed in life. And it's down to great to me. And when I got my GD, that was even better. I felt like a million bucks. We've been looking at projects that help dropouts once they return to school. The best approach may be to prevent dropping out in the first place. Students attending the peninsula academies in the San Francisco area are on a field trip. The academy's focus on students identified as likely to

dropout. Unless they get the extra help, the academies provide. For students such as Letty. That's a little big. Letty's been or was a very quiet, reserved kind of student and one that we might describe that would sort of slip through the cracks. The academies is a program to help students that might be on the border of dropping out from high school. And if they do, probably never return it. And I think the academies is an attempt to stop them. Give them some things to do some options so that they don't drop out. The dropout problem in this area has worsened. And we think that only about 50 % of our minority students in this area actually will complete high school in our district. And that's a significant increase over previous years. I wasn't as motivated before I joined the academies because I didn't

see any future really. I joined because it looked like a good opportunity to learn some skills that will probably be very valuable in my future. Whenever a job I'll be getting your probably will involve some kind of computer skills. Which one is it? Just my own. This is the additional statements? This is if someone's having fun with math. Oh, I see, okay. They can choose from these four categories. Oh, good. And then they go on. They choose one, even if it's the wrong one. They still have the choice to go back and choose a different one. Nice. Dr. Park's skills are all to help the students in her area, which is a computer lab. Whenever you get bad grades, she'll call you over and say, you know, I've been noticing your work's been going down. You have a problem in school, you have a problem at work, you have a problem at home. She's the one that calls you over. She doesn't really wait for you to go over and talk to her.

The typical dropout really is someone who just is dropping out while he's still in. He's losing his grades, he's losing credits, he's getting further and further behind. She's getting further and further behind. Pretty soon it's just too hard to catch up for them. Okay. You know what you're doing? We have these students for three years. We get to know them very well. It becomes a very personal relationship between the teachers and the students. And learning teaching is a personal act. My mother came over here about 20 years ago from Guatemala and I was born in this area. She was offered a job over here and she's decided to take it. And she's never been back since. My

father left and not even sure anymore, I think, about four years ago. He went off to live in Mexico. He liked it better down there, he said, I don't have it spoken to him since then. Let his father love her so much and he will do anything for his daughter. And one day he just walked away. He came back. So let it in show any reaction to it. And I've been trying for her to talk about it and she won't. But I think one of the reasons that she didn't want really crazy is because they're academies. They love them so much and they talk to them. I don't know if she ever talked to one of the teachers but they do help the kids a lot. I really think that the academies is an old

-fashioned approach to education. And it's like the Little Red Schoolhouse where there are a few students, teachers know the students, have time to communicate to them, to help them, to be involved with their families. The big difference comes in that we have the industry link up and we get then the technological side of it. And we get the support from industry. We decided on a computer technology academy because in this area there are a tremendous number of firms where companies have a lead for students and we felt that we could place those tools. Digital elevation model of Mount St. Helens prior to and after the original May 1980 eruption. Letty is learning new computer skills in her student job at the U .S. Geological Survey where she's encouraged by the adults with whom she works. The mentor component of the program is a

positive role model for the student that they may have never seen in a previous situation. They see the mentor in his workplace, the mentor gets involved. It's another adult not related to the school that they can use for support. If we just said to him you have to be at school on time and you have to attend and that was it, many of the students wouldn't change their patterns. But if we say to him, if you attend, if you're on time, if you do the best you can, we will put you in positions where you can work, get credit, get some experiences, some exposure to different kinds of things that may influence your future once they buy into that situation, then they bring about the changes in themselves. Before I thought, you know, what can I do? You know, I just come from this little family living here in the most section, you know? But I discovered, you know, anybody anywhere can do anything.

I found out that there are jobs that can be fun if you go out and get your education you can pick what you want to do. Just keep going, strive for the most. And if you really try, you will get what you want. The kinds of projects you've seen in this report make an important contribution for many people who choose to attend these special schools. But they cannot solve this nation's enormous dropout problem, because not every community has projects like these for dropouts who decide to complete their education. To fill this gap, Kentucky's educational television system has produced a television lesson series to help people prepare for the GED exam. Television generally is very motivational. It has a great deal of entertainment value. And what we've attempted to do is to take

some of the entertainment techniques and to incorporate a solid base of instruction. So we are attempting to utilize some of the techniques that have been used by commercial people for also long and to help people learn. The GED lessons are available on over 100 public television stations nationwide. Dropouts can watch the lessons and study for the GED exam in the privacy of their own homes. This project is a cooperative effort between local public television stations and state adult education departments. Sherry Cox, an adult education coordinator, travels around rural Arkansas, alerting dropouts to the TV series, and other adult education projects available in her region. We use the GED on TV series of types as an instructional aid in our classes. The tapes cause the class to have some discussion about a certain topic or point that is covered in the tape, and sometimes it brings up points or illustrates things in a way that the teacher may not have thought about doing, or might not physically be able to do,

giving the limited space and resources that we have in the classes. We can put an exact location on any place. Programs like this can never replace a teacher, especially if the teacher is a good teacher and is providing the kind of activities that adults need. What we look at this program as is an additional instructional resource. And we feel that with what a teacher can do and what the television can do, that you have the best of both worlds. So we're encouraging a type of marriage between the instructor and the television. GED doesn't promise anything, but it gives people a chance to compete. And I have seen people just blossom in bloom because they've had a piece of paper in their hands. And so we feel very strong about the program. With the GED certificate, these people have reclaimed their own lives. They took the initiative for a second chance to control their own destiny.

Soon Felicia will be a literate mother, able to support herself. Dennis will be part of a workforce that can now effectively compete in the world market. Hazel will be able to fill a new position more meaningful to herself in the community. Chris will go to college, preparing for a productive career that could even lead to the realization of his dream of becoming an astronaut. With their GED certificates, Robert and Patricia have the potential, according to the U .S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, to earn $3 ,300 more every year. And letty, like all of them, will have greater self -esteem and enjoy her life even more as she shapes her own future. Thank you very much.

I quit high school to get married. I wouldn't change what I did exactly, but I sure could use that diploma now to get a good job. And thanks to Project Second Chance on ATN, I can get that diploma. I could earn my degree by watching TV right here at home. To register in Project Second Chance, call 1 -800 -GED on TV. You can study at home or at a learning center near you. Like they say, it's never too

late to graduate. You