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ABSTRACT

DOCUMENT RESUME

UD 032 146

Sims, AbbyProject Choice: Lessons Learned in Dropout Prevention.Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City, MO.1997-00-0038p.; For related document, see UD 032 127. Printed oncolored paper. Photographs may not reproduce well.Internet: www.emkf.org; phone: 816-932-1207.Reports Evaluative (142)MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.Disadvantaged Youth; *Dropouts; Educational Attainment;Graduation; *High School Graduates; High Schools; HigherEducation; Incentives; Inner City; PhilanthropicFoundations; Private Financial Support; Program Evaluation;Scholarship Funds; Tuition Grants; *Urban YouthKansas; *Kansas City Public Schools MO; Missouri

In Project Choice, Ewing Marion Kauffman, through hisKauffman Foundation, offered a college education to inner city youth inselected schools in Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri. Inexchange students and parents agreed among other things that students wouldavoid disciplinary problems in school and the community, maintainsatisfactory grades, and graduate on time with their class. The KauffmanFoundation learned that this type of incentive program can motivate youngpeople to stay in school, but that there is a number of academic and socialskill obstacles that even the promise of a free college education cannotovercome. Of the 1,394 students who signed Project Choice agreements, 767graduated on time, and 709 of these students continued their educations. Tensignificant lessons were drawn from the Project Choice experience: (1)

inner-city students can succeed; (2) support services are crucial; (3) theattention of caring adults is more powerful than the promise of a collegeeducation; (4) parents count; (5) high school graduation is not the end; (6)

schools opt out if they are not full members; (7) flexibility is essential;(8) kids need ongoing rewards and recognition; (9) incentive is expensive;and (10) permanence requires community partnership. Interviews with sixindividuals affected in different ways by Project Choice are included.Parents, students, and teachers speak about the lessons learned by theKauffman Foundation through Project Choice. (SLD)

********************************************************************************* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made *

* from the original document. *

********************************************************************************

PROJECT

PR

OJE

CT

CH

OIC

E:

LES

SO

NS

LEA

RN

ED

IN

DR

OP

OU

T

PR

EV

EN

TIO

N

2

U.S

. DE

PA

RT

ME

NT

OF

ED

UC

AT

ION

Offi

ce o

f Edu

catio

nal R

esea

rch

and

Impr

ovem

ent

ED

UC

AT

ION

AL

RE

SO

UR

CE

S IN

FO

RM

AT

ION

CE

NT

ER

(E

RIC

)

Thi

s do

cum

ent h

as b

een

repr

oduc

ed a

sre

ceiv

ed fr

om th

e pe

rson

or

Org

aniz

atio

nor

igin

atin

g it

Min

or c

hang

es h

ave

been

mad

e to

impr

ove

repr

oduc

tion

qual

ity.

Poi

nts

of v

iew

or

opin

ions

sta

teo

in th

is d

ocu-

men

t do

not n

eces

saril

y re

pres

ent o

ffici

alO

ER

I pos

ition

or

polic

y.

BE

ST C

OPY

AV

AIL

AR

IN

1

PE

RM

ISS

ION

TO

RE

PR

OD

UC

E A

ND

DIS

SE

MIN

AT

E T

HIS

MA

TE

RIA

L H

AS

BE

EN

GR

AN

TE

D B

Y

"Tho

mas

.1: a

ehoo

e,

Pro

ject

Cho

ice

,/C

at, 1

'4-m

a r)

1-7

001c

f.T

O T

HE

ED

UC

AT

ION

AL

RE

SO

UR

CE

SIN

FO

RM

AT

ION

CE

NT

ER

(E

RIC

)

I rt

MO

NIN

IIMIn

om

3

On

the

Cov

er:

(Clo

ckw

ise

from

cen

ter

) T

om

Rho

ne, P

roje

ct C

hoic

e se

nior

dire

ctor

; Joe

Cav

azos

, Pro

ject

Cho

ice

pare

nt; B

arba

ra

Sto

kes,

Wes

tpor

t Hig

h S

choo

l

coun

selo

r, K

ansa

s C

ity, M

o.;

Tyn

ecia

Sm

ith, P

roje

ct C

hoic

e

stud

ent;

Mic

hael

Bob

o, P

roje

ct

Cho

ice

stud

ent.

Ew

ing

Mar

ion

Kau

ffman

1916

-199

3

Ew

ing

Mar

ion

Kau

ffman

exe

mpl

ified

the

wor

d en

trep

rene

ur. H

e le

d hi

s bu

sine

ss, m

ajor

leag

ue b

aseb

all a

nd

phila

nthr

opic

end

eavo

rs u

sing

a s

et o

f ent

repr

eneu

rial p

rinci

ples

that

bro

ught

suc

cess

to a

ll of

his

org

aniz

atio

ns.

As

foun

der

of M

ario

n La

bora

torie

s In

c. In

195

0, M

r. K

auffm

an, k

now

n as

Mr.

K, g

uide

d th

is K

ansa

s C

ity-

base

d ph

arm

aceu

tical

man

ufac

turin

g fir

m fr

om g

ross

sal

es o

f $36

,000

to a

div

ersi

fied

heal

th c

are

prod

ucts

com

pany

that

now

exc

eeds

$6

billi

on in

ann

ual s

ales

. Afte

r tw

o m

erge

rs, t

he fi

rm is

now

kno

wn

as H

oech

st

Mar

ion

Rou

ssel

Inc.

As

sole

ow

ner

of th

e K

ansa

s C

ity R

oyal

s B

aseb

all C

lub,

Mr.

K b

roug

ht th

is A

mer

ican

Lea

gue

expa

nsio

n te

am to

Kan

sas

City

in 1

969

to in

itiat

e an

eco

nom

ic b

oost

for

the

city

. The

Roy

als

now

pla

y at

The

K, a

sta

dium

ded

icat

ed

to th

e m

an w

ho a

lso

was

indu

cted

into

the

Roy

als

Hal

l of F

ame.

Thr

ough

the

Ew

ing

Mar

ion

Kau

ffman

Fou

ndat

ion,

Mr.

K e

stab

lishe

d ph

ilant

hrop

ic e

ffort

s to

wor

k w

ithin

the

cont

ext o

f hum

an d

evel

opm

ent.

The

Fou

ndat

ion

plac

es s

peci

al e

mph

asis

on

help

ing

at-r

isk

child

ren

and

yout

h

beco

me

prod

uctiv

e m

embe

rs o

f soc

iety

and

in s

timul

atin

g th

e gr

owth

of e

ntre

pren

eurs

hip

in A

mer

ica.

Pro

ject

Cho

ice,

one

of f

our

oper

atin

g pr

ogra

ms

of th

e K

auffm

an F

ound

atio

n's

You

th D

evel

opm

ent d

ivis

ion,

was

one

of th

e pr

ogra

ms

that

wor

ked

to g

ive

urba

n-co

re y

outh

a c

hoic

e an

d ho

pe fo

r th

e fu

ture

by

prov

idin

g th

em

with

a p

aid

colle

ge e

duca

tion.

Mr.

K w

as d

irect

ly in

volv

ed in

the

star

tup

of th

e pr

ogra

m, t

arge

ting

his

own

alm

a

mat

er, W

estp

ort H

igh

Sch

ool i

n K

ansa

s C

ity, M

o., a

s th

e P

roje

ct C

hoic

e st

artin

g po

int.

The

pro

gram

's d

ropo

ut

prev

entio

n st

rate

gies

pai

d of

f for

hun

dred

s of

Kan

sas

City

-are

a yo

uth,

who

are

now

ret

urni

ng to

thei

r

com

mun

ities

to g

ive

back

in w

ork

wha

t the

y w

ere

give

n in

opp

ortu

nity

.

11%

grod

wai

offi

Proj

ece

Cho

ke

Tab

le o

f Con

tent

s

Intr

oduc

tion

to P

roje

ct C

hoic

e1

Less

on O

ne:

Inne

r-C

ity K

ids

Can

Suc

ceed

2

Less

on T

wo:

Sup

port

Ser

vice

s ar

e C

ruci

al4

Less

on T

hree

:T

he A

ttent

ion

of C

arin

g A

dults

isM

ore

Pow

erfu

l tha

n th

e In

cent

ive

of P

ost-

Sec

onda

ry E

duca

tion

6

Less

on F

our:

Par

ents

Cou

nt8

Less

on F

ive:

Hig

h S

choo

l Gra

duat

ion

is N

ot th

e E

nd ..

.10

Less

on S

ix:

Sch

ools

Opt

Out

of t

he G

ame

Whe

nT

hey

are

Not

Ful

l Tea

m M

embe

rs12

Cho

ice

Pro

files

Con

clus

ion

14

For

Mor

e In

form

atio

n16

Proj

ect C

hoic

e st

arte

d ou

t as

one

of th

ose

too-

good

-to-

be-t

rue

oppo

rtun

ities

: A s

ucce

ssfu

len

trep

rene

ur, w

ho b

elie

ves

stro

ngly

in th

epo

wer

of

educ

atio

n, d

ecid

es to

fun

d co

llege

educ

atio

n fo

r yo

uth

in th

e ur

ban

core

; urb

an-

core

you

th f

ind

supp

ort,

succ

ess

and

hope

for

the

futu

re. I

t see

med

like

a w

in-w

in s

ituat

ion

for

yout

h fr

om lo

w-i

ncom

e fa

mili

es a

nd th

eco

mm

unity

as

a w

hole

. The

Kau

ffm

anFo

unda

tion

lear

ned

that

a m

otiv

atio

nal,

mul

tilev

el, s

uppo

rt-b

ased

pro

gram

like

Cho

ice

can

insp

ire

youn

g pe

ople

to s

tay

in s

choo

l, bu

tth

ere

are

a nu

mbe

r of

aca

dem

ic a

nd s

ocia

l ski

llob

stac

les

that

eve

n th

e pr

omis

e of

a f

ree

colle

geed

ucat

ion

cann

ot o

verc

ome.

Bet

wee

n 19

88 a

nd 1

992,

nea

rly

1,40

0ni

nth

grad

e st

uden

ts in

the

Kan

sas

City

, Kan

.,an

d K

ansa

s C

ity, M

o., s

choo

l dis

tric

ts a

gree

dto

be

part

of

Proj

ect C

hoic

e. S

tude

nts

and

thei

r pa

rent

s ag

reed

that

the

stud

ent w

ould

mai

ntai

n sa

tisfa

ctor

y gr

ades

, rec

eive

tuto

ring

,av

oid

pare

ntho

od, a

void

dis

cipl

inar

ypr

oble

ms

in s

choo

l and

in th

e co

mm

unity

,ab

stai

n fr

om u

sing

ille

gal d

rugs

and

gra

duat

eon

tim

e w

ith th

eir

clas

s. I

n ex

chan

ge, e

ach

stud

ent w

ho s

ucce

ssfu

lly c

ompl

eted

the

term

sof

the

Proj

ect C

hoic

e ag

reem

ent r

ecei

ved

apa

id c

olle

ge o

r vo

catio

nal e

duca

tion

at a

sta

teor

reg

iona

l ins

titut

ion

of th

eir

choi

ce.

Of

the

1,39

4 st

uden

ts w

ho s

igne

d Pr

ojec

tC

hoic

e ag

reem

ents

, 767

stu

dent

s gr

adua

ted

ontim

e an

d vi

olat

ed n

one

of th

e ag

reem

ent's

term

s.So

me

709

of th

ose

stud

ents

con

tinue

d th

eir

educ

atio

ns a

t tw

o-ye

ar c

omm

unity

col

lege

s, f

our-

year

uni

vers

ities

, tec

hnic

al tr

aini

ng o

r bu

sine

sssc

hool

s. A

s th

is r

epor

t is

wri

tten,

47

stud

ents

hav

egr

adua

ted,

and

sev

en s

tude

nts

are

enro

lled

ingr

adua

te s

choo

l.

From

the

Proj

ect C

hoic

e ex

peri

ence

emer

ged

10 s

igni

fica

nt le

sson

s on

the

pinn

acle

s an

d pi

tfal

ls o

f op

erat

ing

a dr

opou

tpr

even

tion

prog

ram

:

1. I

nner

-city

kid

s ca

n su

ccee

d.

2. S

uppo

rt s

ervi

ces

are

cruc

ial.

3. T

he a

ttent

ion

of c

arin

g ad

ults

is m

ore

pow

erfu

l tha

n th

e in

cent

ive

of p

ost-

seco

ndar

y ed

ucat

ion.

4. P

aren

ts c

ount

.

5. H

igh

scho

ol g

radu

atio

n is

not

the

end.

6. S

choo

ls o

pt o

ut o

f th

e ga

me

whe

n th

eyar

e no

t ful

l tea

m m

embe

rs.

7. F

lexi

bilit

y is

key

: Be

prep

ared

to c

hang

e.

8. K

ids

need

ong

oing

rew

ards

and

reco

gniti

on.

9. I

ncen

tive

is e

xpen

sive

.

10. P

erm

anen

ce r

equi

res

com

mun

ity p

artn

ersh

ips.

On

the

follo

win

g pa

ges

are

inte

rvie

ws

with

six

indi

vidu

als

affe

cted

in d

iffe

rent

way

s by

Proj

ect C

hoic

e. P

aren

ts, s

tude

nts,

teac

hers

and

othe

rs a

ssoc

iate

d w

ith th

e pr

ogra

m s

poke

out

toill

ustr

ate

som

e of

the

mos

t poi

gnan

t les

sons

lear

ned

by th

e K

auff

man

Fou

ndat

ion

rega

rdin

gPr

ojec

t Cho

ice.

It i

s ho

ped

that

by

shar

ing

thes

est

orie

s, o

ther

org

aniz

atio

ns, s

choo

ls o

rin

divi

dual

s ca

n de

sign

suc

cess

ful d

ropo

utpr

even

tion

prog

ram

s th

at h

ave

last

ing

impa

ct o

nth

eir

com

mun

ities

.

71

Inne

r-C

ity K

ids

Can

Suc

ceed

.

Ew

ing

Kau

ffman

bel

ieve

d th

at d

espi

te th

e ba

rrie

rs o

f pov

erty

, inn

er-c

ity "

at-

risk"

you

th c

an b

ecom

e pr

oduc

tive

mem

bers

of s

ocie

ty if

they

eac

h re

ceiv

e a

good

edu

catio

n. B

ut s

omet

imes

, it's

not

that

eas

y. F

ar to

o of

ten,

by

the

time

inne

r-ci

ty y

oung

ster

s re

ach

nint

h gr

ade

they

rea

lly d

on't

see

them

selv

es a

s

lear

ners

or

as c

apab

le o

f lon

g-te

rm in

telle

ctua

l ach

ieve

men

t. In

fact

, man

y

stud

ents

beg

in to

feel

sha

des

of in

capa

city

as

early

as

third

gra

de, w

hen

the

abili

ty to

und

erst

and

wha

t one

rea

ds b

ecom

es w

hat s

ets

som

e st

uden

ts a

part

from

and

ahea

d of

othe

rs. A

dd to

that

a v

arie

ty o

f fam

ily o

r so

cial

prob

lem

s an

d yo

u ha

ve a

gen

erat

ion

of in

ner-

city

stu

dent

s w

ho p

roba

bly

won

't

succ

eed

beca

use

they

brin

g to

o m

uch

"bag

gage

" fo

r sc

hool

s an

d co

mm

uniti

es

to h

andl

e. A

lthou

gh in

terv

entio

n in

nin

th g

rade

is n

ot th

e an

swer

to a

ll

stud

ents

' lon

g-te

rm le

arni

ng is

sues

, a m

otiv

atio

nal,

hand

s-on

, hig

h sc

hool

prog

ram

bui

lt on

the

sust

aine

d, p

erso

nal a

ttent

ion

of c

arin

g ad

ults

can

insp

ire

youn

g pe

ople

to s

tay

in s

choo

l and

giv

e le

arni

ng a

sec

ond

try.

94.

),

TH

E Y

OU

ND

AT

VO

NL

EA

AN

ED

TH

AT

:Sp

onso

rs o

f pr

ogra

ms

like

Proj

ect C

hoic

e sh

ould

exp

ect t

hat

nint

h gr

ade

inte

rven

tions

will

res

ult

in h

ighl

y di

vers

e ou

tcom

es th

atde

pend

on

the

stud

ents

' bas

elin

esk

ills

and

achi

evem

ent l

evel

s, a

sw

ell a

s th

e de

gree

to w

hich

they

are

affe

cted

by

com

plex

fam

ily, s

ocia

lan

d he

alth

pro

blem

s.

Des

pite

man

y Pr

ojec

t Cho

ice

prog

ram

ref

inem

ents

, the

mos

t tha

tco

uld

be a

chie

ved

with

any

one

prog

ram

gro

up w

as a

55-

to-6

0pe

rcen

t hig

h sc

hool

gra

duat

ion

rate

.

10

"It w

as th

e 'c

ream

of

the

crop

' stu

dent

sw

ho g

ot a

ll th

e at

tent

ion

from

teac

hers

whe

n I

was

in h

igh

scho

ol,"

rec

alls

Eliz

abet

h, a

199

3gr

adua

te o

f a

Kan

sas

City

, Mo.

, hig

h sc

hool

."T

hose

wer

e th

e ki

ds w

ho g

ot th

e co

llege

pre

pcl

asse

s an

d ex

tra

time

from

teac

hers

."

Eliz

abet

h ad

mits

, how

ever

, tha

t she

cou

ldha

ve d

one

mor

e to

see

k ou

t tha

t "tr

ack"

inhi

gh s

choo

l.

"I w

as in

and

out

of

trou

ble.

You

kno

who

w it

is.

... I

was

in m

y ow

n w

orld

then

," s

hesa

ys. "

I pr

obab

ly d

idn'

t tak

e hi

gh s

choo

l or

my

invo

lvem

ent i

n Pr

ojec

t Cho

ice

too

seri

ousl

yun

til I

sta

rted

goi

ng to

Cho

ice'

s Sa

turd

aySc

hool

. Who

a, th

en it

all

star

ted

to h

it m

e th

atI

had

to g

et s

erio

us if

I p

lann

ed to

eve

n th

ink

abou

t col

lege

."

Satu

rday

Sch

ool w

as ju

st li

ke it

sou

nds:

scho

ol o

n Sa

turd

ays.

It w

as s

tart

ed p

rim

arily

togi

ve s

tude

nts

who

wer

e in

dan

ger

of n

otgr

adua

ting

with

thei

r cl

ass

a ch

ance

to m

ake

upfa

iled

cour

ses.

Mas

ter

teac

hers

, des

igna

ted

byth

e sc

hool

dis

tric

t, ta

ught

Sat

urda

y Sc

hool

cour

ses,

off

erin

g on

e-on

-one

inst

ruct

ion

and

anop

port

unity

for

inde

pend

ent l

earn

ing.

Whe

nE

lizab

eth

real

ized

thro

ugh

Satu

rday

Sch

ool

that

she

stil

l had

a c

hanc

e to

try

hard

er in

scho

ol a

nd r

eally

suc

ceed

, she

wen

t aft

er h

ergo

al a

ggre

ssiv

ely.

"I d

ecid

ed I

wan

ted

to p

rove

eve

ryon

ew

rong

and

do

it!"

she

says

. "I

was

the

only

one

out o

f al

l my

brot

hers

and

sis

ters

who

grad

uate

d fr

om h

igh

scho

ol, m

uch

less

wen

t on

to f

inis

h co

llege

. My

mom

is r

eal p

roud

of

all

her

kids

, but

she

was

pre

tty th

rille

d th

at I

was

fini

shin

g m

y ed

ucat

ion.

"

Eliz

abet

h at

tend

ed C

entr

al M

etho

dist

Col

lege

in F

ayet

te, M

o. "

It w

as th

e on

ly s

choo

lou

t of

tow

n th

at a

ccep

ted

me,

" sh

e sa

ys w

ith a

BE

ST C

OPY

AV

AIL

AB

LE

laug

h. E

lizab

eth

says

mos

t pos

t-se

cond

ary

inst

itutio

ns w

eren

't in

tere

sted

in h

er b

ecau

se o

fhe

r gr

ades

and

oth

er is

sues

that

hin

dere

d he

rsu

cces

s he

r fr

eshm

an y

ear

in h

igh

scho

ol. B

utC

MC

was

will

ing

to ta

ke h

er o

n. "

I w

as s

oex

cite

d w

hen

I go

t tha

t acc

epta

nce

lette

r. I

don

'tth

ink

I've

ever

jum

ped

that

hig

h in

my

life!

"

In h

er ju

nior

yea

r at

CM

C, E

lizab

eth,

who

was

stu

dyin

g ps

ycho

logy

, bec

ame

preg

nant

. She

cont

inue

d to

wor

k an

d at

tend

sch

ool

thro

ugho

ut h

er p

regn

ancy

and

ret

urne

d to

a f

ull

clas

s sc

hedu

le a

fter

the

birt

h of

her

son

. Pro

ject

Cho

ice

cont

inue

d to

sup

port

Eliz

abet

h be

caus

esh

e ha

d al

read

y pr

oven

her

abi

lity

to o

verc

ome

obst

acle

s an

d em

erge

vic

tori

ous.

Ind

eed,

Eliz

abet

h w

ent o

n to

gra

duat

e fr

om C

MC

with

her

clas

s. S

he r

ecen

tly g

ot m

arri

ed a

nd is

now

look

ing

for

wor

k in

her

cho

sen

fiel

d.

"I a

m o

ne o

f th

e m

any

kids

who

fel

l int

o a

trap

whe

re p

eopl

e di

dn't

care

, esp

ecia

llyte

ache

rs,"

Eliz

abet

h sa

ys. "

I ha

d go

od f

amily

supp

ort,

but k

ids

have

to h

ave

teac

hers

who

belie

ve in

them

or

else

they

'll f

all t

hrou

gh th

ecr

acks

. We'

re a

ll co

nditi

oned

to d

o ce

rtai

nth

ings

, tea

cher

s in

clud

ed. I

f th

ey g

et r

id o

f th

eno

t-so

-sm

art k

ids,

they

can

foc

us o

n th

e go

odon

es, a

nd I

und

erst

and

that

. Pro

ject

Cho

ice

was

my

chan

ce to

esc

ape

that

trap

, and

I to

okad

vant

age

of w

hat i

t had

to o

ffer

me.

"

113

12

It 7

iSSO

N

Supp

ort S

ervi

ces

are

Cru

cial

.

It w

as c

lear

from

the

begi

nnin

g of

Pro

ject

Cho

ice

that

eac

h C

hoic

e st

uden

t

cam

e to

the

prog

ram

with

a u

niqu

e se

t of l

ong-

stan

ding

issu

es, s

ome

as s

erio

us

as h

omel

essn

ess,

abu

se, h

ealth

pro

blem

s, li

ttle

or n

o em

otio

nal s

uppo

rt fr

om

fam

ily, p

ast a

cade

mic

or

beha

vior

pro

blem

s an

d/or

ris

ky p

eer

grou

p ac

tivity

.

Unt

il C

hoic

e, m

any

of th

ese

stud

ents

had

nev

er e

xper

ienc

ed s

choo

l sup

port

serv

ices

, and

, aca

dem

ical

ly s

peak

ing,

man

y of

thes

e st

uden

ts w

ere

behi

nd in

read

ing

and

mat

h sk

ills.

Pro

gram

s th

at in

terv

ene

at n

inth

gra

de m

ust b

e

prep

ared

to m

ake

darin

g em

otio

nal a

nd fi

nanc

ial i

nves

tmen

ts in

the

stud

ents

'

soci

al a

nd a

cade

mic

futu

re to

hel

p "t

urn

back

the

cloc

k" o

n th

eir

som

etim

es-

rock

y be

ginn

ings

.

To

mak

e su

re th

ese

inve

stm

ents

pay

off

for

the

stud

ents

, pro

gram

s lik

e C

hoic

e

mus

t pro

vide

a b

road

arr

ay o

f sup

port

ser

vice

s th

at c

an b

e cu

stom

ized

to

addr

ess

indi

vidu

al s

tude

nt n

eeds

. By

prov

idin

g st

rong

, con

sist

ent s

uppo

rt

serv

ices

, dro

pout

pre

vent

ion

prog

ram

s lik

e C

hoic

e ca

n re

tain

stu

dent

s in

way

s

sim

pler

sch

olar

ship

ince

ntiv

e pr

ogra

ms

cann

ot.

ffl

EE

M Ct:

tE1

:11E

z

ra0f

lEC

T C

HT

MC

EL

EA

MM

ED

TH

AT

:A

wid

e va

riet

y of

sup

port

serv

ices

mus

t be

offe

red,

esp

ecia

llyin

hig

h sc

hool

. Be

prep

ared

to s

pend

abou

t 80

perc

ent o

f th

e pr

ogra

m's

budg

et o

n su

ppor

t ser

vice

s. 14

"We

talk

ed a

lot a

bout

res

ume

build

ing,

com

mun

ity s

ervi

ce a

nd to

pics

out

side

the

real

mof

a ty

pica

l inn

er-c

ity h

igh

scho

ol,"

say

s K

en, a

seni

or a

t Kan

sas

Stat

e U

nive

rsity

in M

anha

ttan,

Kan

., w

ho r

efer

s to

the

spec

ial c

lass

in w

hich

all

Cho

ice

stud

ents

at h

is K

ansa

s C

ity, K

an.,

high

scho

ol w

ere

enro

lled.

"T

he c

lass

cou

nsel

ors

and

Cho

ice

staf

f w

ere

real

ly tr

ying

to e

xpos

e us

to a

sm

uch

as p

ossi

ble

to h

elp

us p

repa

re f

or li

febe

yond

the

inne

r ci

ty."

Alth

ough

Ken

fir

st v

iew

ed th

is c

lass

as

just

som

ethi

ng h

e ha

d to

do

as a

Cho

ice

stud

ent,

heca

me

to u

nder

stan

d th

at it

was

par

t of

a fu

llsl

ate

of s

uppo

rt o

ffer

ed th

roug

h hi

s hi

gh s

choo

lby

Pro

ject

Cho

ice.

Thr

ough

out h

igh

scho

ol, K

enex

plor

ed v

irtu

ally

all

the

supp

ort s

ervi

ces

offe

red

by C

hoic

e to

hel

p hi

m a

chie

ve h

is g

oal o

fat

tend

ing

colle

ge.

"Cho

ice

paid

for

me

to ta

ke th

e A

CT

,w

hich

was

gre

at. B

ut p

roba

bly

the

best

thin

g th

est

aff

did

for

me

was

to ta

ke m

e on

cam

pus

visi

ts,

espe

cial

ly th

e on

e he

re a

t KSU

," K

en s

ays.

His

KSU

exp

erie

nce

was

a th

ree-

wee

ken

rich

men

t pro

gram

, the

sum

mer

bef

ore

his

juni

or y

ear

in h

igh

scho

ol, w

here

Cho

ice

stud

ents

wer

e of

fere

d th

e op

port

unity

to li

ve in

the

KSU

dor

ms,

take

som

e ab

brev

iate

d cl

asse

sfo

r fu

ture

cre

dit,

expl

ore

colle

ge-l

ife

issu

es a

ndbo

nd w

ith K

SU s

taff

and

oth

er C

hoic

e st

uden

ts.

"It w

as s

o gr

eat.

I ac

tual

ly d

idn'

t wan

t to

leav

e w

hen

it w

as o

ver,

" K

en r

ecal

ls. K

en's

fam

ily e

ndor

sed

his

invo

lvem

ent i

n Pr

ojec

tC

hoic

e; h

owev

er, h

is m

othe

r an

d st

epfa

ther

wer

e un

able

to p

rovi

de a

ny o

ther

kin

d of

fina

ncia

l or

emot

iona

l sec

urity

for

him

. For

stud

ents

like

Ken

who

lack

a s

tron

g fa

mily

conn

ectio

n, th

e su

ppor

t he

felt

from

Cho

ice

and

KSU

fos

tere

d a

seco

nd-f

amily

rel

atio

nshi

p.

"I a

dmit,

I la

tche

d on

to th

e st

aff

earl

y on

.A

nd o

nce

Cho

ice

kids

bec

ame

stud

ents

at K

SU,

we

had

acce

ss to

pee

r an

d fa

culty

men

tors

and

tuto

ring

, and

we

had

oppo

rtun

ities

to n

etw

ork

with

oth

er C

hoic

e st

uden

ts. A

ll of

us

knew

we

coul

d go

to a

ny C

hoic

e st

aff

mem

ber

or o

urfa

culty

men

tor

whe

n w

e ne

eded

adv

ice

orgu

idan

ce. I

t was

nic

e to

hav

e th

at s

afet

y ne

t."

Ken

's a

dvic

e fo

r ot

her

drop

out p

reve

ntio

npr

ogra

ms:

Em

phas

ize

cam

pus

visi

ts, c

ouns

elan

d pr

epar

e st

uden

ts f

or r

igor

s of

pos

t-se

cond

ary

acad

emic

s; a

nd a

dd s

ome

type

of

"cul

ture

sho

ck"

prep

arat

ion

for

stud

ents

who

,lik

e K

en, g

o fr

om u

rban

-cor

e hi

gh s

choo

ls,

whe

re th

e po

pula

tion

is c

ompo

sed

prim

arily

of

peop

le o

f co

lor,

to c

olle

ge c

ampu

ses

whe

rest

uden

ts p

redo

min

antly

are

whi

te.

"But

mos

t im

port

ant,"

Ken

add

s, "

Mak

eth

e co

llege

fol

low

-up

and

mon

itori

nges

peci

ally

men

tori

ngpa

rt o

f th

e in

itial

cont

ract

. Tha

t con

tinuo

us c

onta

ct is

wha

t kee

psa

lot o

f st

uden

ts o

n tr

ack.

"

Ken

con

clud

es w

ith th

anks

to E

win

gK

auff

man

. "I

neve

r ha

d a

chan

ce to

mee

t Mr.

K,

but i

f I

coul

d ta

lk to

him

toda

y I'd

let h

im k

now

that

Pro

ject

Cho

ice

help

ed m

e fe

el a

sen

se o

fbe

long

ing.

It c

reat

ed a

fan

tast

ic o

ppor

tuni

ty f

orm

e to

lear

n le

ader

ship

ski

lls a

nd to

fee

l goo

dab

out w

hat I

can

con

trib

ute.

Cho

ice

real

lycr

eate

d a

pass

ion

in m

e to

sha

re m

y ex

peri

ence

,an

d I

hope

by

doin

g th

at I

can

hel

p so

meo

ne li

kem

e in

the

futu

re."

BE

ST C

OIL

AV

AIJ

A13

IE

15

5

SS N

The

Atte

ntio

n of

Car

ing

Adu

lts is

Mor

e Po

wer

ful t

han

the

Ince

ntiv

e of

Post

-Sec

onda

ryE

duca

tion.

It's

a w

idel

y he

ld b

elie

f tha

t tee

nage

rs a

re p

rimar

ily in

tere

sted

in im

med

iate

grat

ifica

tion.

The

y w

ant i

nfor

mat

ion

in s

ound

bite

s an

d th

ey w

ant i

t qui

ck. I

t

stan

ds to

rea

son

that

eig

hth

grad

ers

do n

ot fi

nd th

e pr

ospe

ct o

f col

lege

, or

som

e ot

her

rew

ard

that

will

com

e la

ter

rath

er th

an s

oone

r, p

artic

ular

ly

inte

rest

ing.

The

y w

ant t

o kn

ow w

hat's

in it

for

them

rig

ht h

ere,

rig

ht n

ow. T

he

Cho

ice

stud

ents

foun

d in

stan

t gra

tific

atio

n in

adu

lt at

tent

ion

and

guid

ance

,

whi

ch m

any

teen

s w

ant a

nd n

eed

but m

ay n

ot k

now

how

to p

ursu

e. S

usta

ined

cont

act w

ith C

hoic

e st

aff m

ento

rs a

nd tu

tors

, alo

ng w

ith M

r. K

's p

erso

nal

invo

lvem

ent,

sent

a m

essa

ge to

the

Cho

ice

stud

ents

that

they

wer

e in

divi

dual

s

wor

thy

of a

ttent

ion

from

car

ing

adul

ts.

1617

TH

E Y

OU

ND

AT

1101

0L

EA

RN

ED

TH

AT

gC

arin

g, tu

tori

ng a

ndm

ento

ring

, alo

ng w

ith h

igh

expe

ctat

ions

in a

cade

mic

s an

dbe

havi

or f

or P

roje

ct C

hoic

epa

rtic

ipat

ion,

pai

d of

f in

redu

ced

inci

denc

e of

dru

g ab

use

and

incr

ease

d in

cide

nce

ofst

uden

t ret

entio

n.

As

stud

ents

pro

gres

sed

from

one

grad

e to

the

next

, col

lege

or

care

er tr

aini

ng to

ok o

n in

crea

sed

impo

rtan

ce f

or th

ose

Cho

ice

stud

ents

who

wer

e m

akin

g th

egr

eate

st a

cade

mic

impr

ovem

ents

.T

hey

bega

n to

see

edu

catio

n as

wor

thw

hile

and

that

pos

t-se

cond

ary

educ

atio

n w

as a

nat

tain

able

goa

l.

18

"The

gre

at th

ing

abou

t Pro

ject

Cho

ice

isth

at [

the

staf

f] n

ever

for

got a

bout

me.

The

y w

ere

alw

ays

ther

e,"

says

Mic

hael

, a s

enio

r at

St.

Lou

isU

nive

rsity

and

a P

roje

ct C

hoic

e st

uden

t fro

mW

estp

ort H

igh

Scho

ol in

Kan

sas

City

, Mo.

Thi

sre

vela

tion

com

es e

ight

yea

rs a

fter

Mic

hael

sign

ed th

e ag

reem

ent t

hat b

ound

him

toac

adem

ic s

ucce

ss.

Whe

n he

was

a s

tude

nt in

Wes

tpor

t Jun

ior

Hig

h, M

icha

el w

asn'

t all

that

inte

rest

ed in

scho

ol. "

I di

d w

ell,

but I

just

was

n't i

nto

scho

ol,"

he s

ays.

"I

got b

y in

the

cour

ses

I lik

ed, b

ut I

had

no r

eal m

otiv

atio

n to

ach

ieve

." A

nd b

ecau

se o

fhi

s fa

mily

's f

inan

cial

con

stra

ints

, Mic

hael

had

not e

ven

cont

empl

ated

col

lege

. He

calls

the

idea

"inc

once

ivab

le"

at th

at ti

me.

But

one

day

, Mic

hael

's m

othe

r re

ad a

nar

ticle

in th

e lo

cal n

ewsp

aper

out

linin

g w

hat

Ew

ing

Kau

ffm

an w

as d

oing

with

Pro

ject

Cho

ice

at W

estp

ort H

igh

Scho

ol. "

At t

hat p

oint

,"M

icha

el s

ays,

"it

was

not

a g

iven

that

I w

ould

atte

nd W

estp

ort H

igh,

eve

n th

ough

I w

asal

read

y a

stud

ent a

t Wes

tpor

t Jun

ior

Hig

h. M

ym

om w

as tr

ying

to g

et m

e a

scho

lars

hip

toan

othe

r pr

ivat

e hi

gh s

choo

l bec

ause

she

thou

ght

my

chan

ces

of g

ettin

g a

colle

ge s

chol

arsh

ipw

ould

be

bette

r. B

ut a

fter

she

rea

d th

e ar

ticle

,m

y m

om w

orke

d it

out s

o th

at I

cou

ld g

o to

Wes

tpor

t and

get

into

Pro

ject

Cho

ice.

"

Mic

hael

des

crib

es h

is in

itial

exp

erie

nces

with

the

Cho

ice

staf

f as

unu

sual

, som

ethi

ng to

whi

ch h

e w

as n

ot a

ccus

tom

ed. H

e sa

ys, "

I've

alw

ays

been

ver

y in

depe

nden

t. T

he C

hoic

e st

aff

kind

of

push

ed th

eir

way

into

my

life,

but

not

ina

bad

way

. It w

as h

ard

to g

et u

sed

to, b

ut it

did

n't

take

me

long

to f

igur

e ou

t tha

t the

y w

ere

doin

gth

at to

hel

p m

e.

"It w

as m

ore

than

just

a jo

b to

the

staf

f.W

hen

they

spe

nt a

lot o

f ex

tra

time

with

me,

itw

asn'

t bec

ause

they

had

to. T

hey

real

ly w

ante

d

r B

EST

CO

PY A

VA

ILA

BliE

me

to s

ucce

ed, a

nd th

ey w

ere

will

ing

to d

ow

hate

ver

they

cou

ld to

hel

p m

e. T

hat's

wha

tm

eant

so

muc

h to

me

and

my

fam

ily"

Mic

hael

bea

rs w

itnes

s to

how

impo

rtan

t it

is f

or p

rogr

ams

like

Cho

ice

to w

ork

wel

l with

scho

ol s

taff

. "I

had

a gu

idan

ce c

ouns

elor

at

Wes

tpor

t, M

s. S

toke

s,"

Mic

hael

rec

alls

. "W

ell,

whe

n I

was

fal

ling

dow

n on

the

job

and

not

doin

g w

hat I

sho

uld

to g

et a

bet

ter

grad

e or

wha

teve

r, A

dria

na P

ecin

a (a

Cho

ice

staf

fer)

and

Ms.

Sto

kes

wou

ld c

all m

e in

and

tell

me

wha

tw

as w

hat a

nd w

hat I

nee

ded

to d

o to

impr

ove.

It's

fun

ny b

ecau

se I

was

rea

l stu

bbor

n, b

ut I

alw

ays

com

plie

d be

caus

e I

didn

't se

e th

em a

sau

thor

ity f

igur

es. I

vie

wed

them

as

peop

le w

hoca

red

abou

t wha

t hap

pene

d to

me,

who

wan

ted

me

to li

ve u

p to

my

pote

ntia

l."

Mic

hael

is n

ow p

lann

ing

to g

radu

ate

from

St. L

ouis

Uni

vers

ity w

ith a

deg

ree

in p

sych

olog

y,an

d he

may

pur

sue

a gr

adua

te d

egre

e w

ith a

nem

phas

is o

n re

latio

nshi

p co

unse

ling.

But

with

out b

oth

the

fina

ncia

l and

em

otio

nal

supp

ort f

rom

Pro

ject

Cho

ice,

Mic

hael

say

s he

wou

ldn'

t hav

e m

ade

it th

is f

ar. "

Oh,

I'd

pro

babl

yst

ill b

e in

Kan

sas

City

, wor

king

som

ewhe

re,"

he

says

. "I

wou

ldn'

t be

poor

or

hom

eles

s or

anyt

hing

like

that

. I'd

be

mod

erat

ely

succ

essf

ul.

But

now

I'll

be

the

firs

t in

my

fam

ily to

gra

duat

efr

om c

olle

ge. P

roje

ct C

hoic

e re

ally

hel

ped

mot

ivat

e m

e to

do

wel

l in

scho

ol a

nd b

roug

ht m

ecl

oser

to m

y fa

mily

"

197

if

I-I

4SSO

NFOUR

Pare

nts

Cou

nt.

We

live

in a

soc

iety

whe

re c

hild

ren

go to

sch

ool w

hile

adu

lts g

o to

wor

k in

side

and

outs

ide

the

hom

e. T

he s

tude

nts

get t

he a

ttent

ion;

the

adul

ts p

rovi

de th

e

supp

ort.

So

who

's lo

okin

g af

ter

the

pare

nts

to k

eep

them

eng

aged

in th

eir

child

's a

cade

mic

life

?

Pro

ject

Cho

ice

wen

t the

ext

ra m

ile to

mak

e pa

rent

s fe

el n

ot o

nly

wel

com

e bu

t a

nece

ssar

y pa

rt o

f stu

dent

s' s

ucce

ss. P

aren

ts o

r gu

ardi

ans

of C

hoic

e st

uden

ts

wer

e of

fere

d m

eetin

gs a

nd r

etre

ats

to h

elp

them

with

dec

isio

n m

akin

g,

com

mun

icat

ion

and

pare

ntin

g sk

ills.

Fie

ld tr

ips

and

achi

evem

ent c

eleb

ratio

ns

wer

e al

so p

rovi

ded

for

Cho

ice

fam

ilies

. But

eac

h fa

mily

has

indi

vidu

al n

eeds

.

Pro

gram

s lik

e C

hoic

e ne

ed to

car

eful

ly e

xam

ine

thei

r po

pula

tions

and

inst

itute

a

varie

ty o

f rel

evan

t fam

ily s

ervi

ces

and

activ

ities

that

bui

ld p

ride

in a

nd

to th

e pr

ogra

m.

21

PRO

JEC

T C

HO

OC

EL

LE

AA

NE

D T

HA

T

Pare

nts

are

mor

e lik

ely

topa

rtic

ipat

e in

act

iviti

es th

at a

ddre

sssp

ecif

ic, r

elev

ant n

eeds

.

Fam

ilies

are

mor

e lik

ely

topa

rtic

ipat

e in

rel

evan

t act

iviti

es w

hen

they

take

pla

ce o

n ne

utra

l tur

f (n

ot in

scho

ols)

and

whe

n th

ere

is c

hild

car

eav

aila

ble.

It's

a g

ood

idea

to a

ppoi

nt a

prog

ram

sta

ff m

embe

r to

the

role

of

pare

nt a

ctiv

ity c

oord

inat

or. E

ven

so, i

tis

not

eas

y to

mai

ntai

n lo

ng-t

erm

invo

lvem

ent o

f lo

w-i

ncom

e pa

rent

s,m

any

of w

hom

are

str

uggl

ing

daily

with

fin

anci

al c

onst

rain

ts a

nd o

ther

soci

al c

halle

nges

.

22

Esp

eran

za A

lvar

ez is

one

of

thos

e pa

rent

sw

ho r

evel

s in

her

chi

ldre

n's

succ

ess.

She

has

enco

urag

ed a

ll se

ven

of h

er k

ids

to g

et a

goo

ded

ucat

ion

and

choo

se a

rew

ardi

ng c

aree

r th

atth

ey li

ke.

"My

youn

ger

brot

her

and

I w

ere

both

Cho

ice

kids

," s

ays

Esp

eran

za's

dau

ghte

r, M

aria

,a

grad

uate

of

Geo

rge

Was

hing

ton

Uni

vers

ity in

Was

hing

ton,

D.C

. "H

e w

as th

e on

e w

ho w

asre

ally

em

barr

asse

d th

at o

ur m

othe

r w

as s

oex

cite

d ab

out P

roje

ct C

hoic

e. S

he w

ent t

o al

lth

e pa

rent

mee

tings

and

wor

ksho

ps. M

ybr

othe

r tr

ied

to g

et h

er to

sto

p ra

isin

g he

r ha

ndan

d ta

lkin

g al

l the

tim

e, b

ut s

he ju

st k

ept o

ndo

ing

it. O

ur m

othe

r w

as s

o pr

oud

that

we

wer

eC

hoic

e ki

ds."

Mar

ia r

ecal

ls th

at h

er m

othe

r w

as in

volv

edfr

om th

e be

ginn

ing.

"Sh

e pr

etty

muc

h fo

rced

me

to g

o to

Sum

ner

Aca

dem

y (a

Kan

sas

City

, Kan

.,hi

gh s

choo

l with

str

ict a

dmis

sion

sta

ndar

ds)

beca

use

of it

s di

ffic

ult c

urri

culu

m. I

did

n't w

ant

to g

o th

ere

beca

use

all o

f m

y fr

iend

s w

ere

goin

gto

ano

ther

hig

h sc

hool

. But

I p

asse

d th

e en

tran

ceex

am a

nd w

ent.

I ne

ver

real

ly li

ked

it be

caus

e I

was

one

of

the

only

His

pani

c fe

mal

es th

ere.

But

I w

as in

to s

port

s an

d ke

pt m

ysel

f bu

sy. I

t was

ago

od e

duca

tion.

"

Mar

ia k

new

that

her

mot

her's

enco

urag

emen

t and

exu

bera

nce

over

Pro

ject

Cho

ice

was

dir

ectly

con

nect

ed to

the

fact

that

the

Cho

ice

stud

ents

had

to s

tay

on tr

ack

to g

etto

that

pai

d co

llege

edu

catio

n. S

he r

ealiz

es th

atw

ithou

t the

Cho

ice

prog

ram

, she

pro

babl

yw

ould

n't h

ave

been

abl

e to

atte

nd G

eorg

eW

ashi

ngto

n, w

hich

she

cho

se b

ecau

se o

f its

exce

llent

cri

min

al ju

stic

e pr

ogra

m.

"Pro

gram

s lik

e C

hoic

e ar

e so

hel

pful

toyo

ung

peop

le,"

Esp

eran

za s

ays.

"W

hen

they

get

out o

f co

llege

they

get

to m

ake

a st

art f

orth

emse

lves

with

no

colle

ge b

ills

left

ove

r to

pay

.Pr

ojec

t Cho

ice

mad

e a

big

diff

eren

ce in

that

way

.

BE

ST C

OPY

AV

AIL

AB

LE

I te

ll m

y ch

ildre

n an

d al

l kid

s I

talk

to th

atth

ey m

ust k

eep

goin

g. A

life

with

out e

duca

tion

is a

har

d on

e, e

spec

ially

her

e in

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es." Esp

eran

za s

ays

that

she

par

ticul

arly

enjo

yed

the

oppo

rtun

ities

Pro

ject

Cho

ice

prov

ided

for

par

entin

g cl

asse

s. S

he s

ays

she

lear

ned

a lo

t abo

ut h

ow to

talk

to h

er c

hild

ren

abou

t sch

ool.

Mar

ia c

onfi

rms

that

her

mot

her

was

tran

sfor

med

by

the

trai

ning

ses

sion

s.

"Onc

e sh

e to

ok a

str

ess

man

agem

ent c

lass

offe

red

by C

hoic

e an

d ca

me

hom

e an

d us

ed it

on

us th

at s

ame

nigh

t!"

Mar

ia s

ays

with

a la

ugh.

"Cho

ice

help

ed h

er in

mor

e w

ays

than

she

expe

cted

. My

mom

is a

sin

gle

pare

nt. C

hoic

em

ade

it ea

sier

for

my

fam

ily f

inan

cial

ly, a

nd w

ear

e pr

oof

that

it w

as a

n ex

celle

nt p

rogr

am to

brin

g pa

rent

s an

d st

uden

ts c

lose

r to

geth

er."

To

this

day

, Esp

eran

za h

olds

Ew

ing

Kau

ffm

an in

the

high

est r

egar

d. S

he o

nce

met

him

,an

d sh

e pr

oudl

y di

spla

ys in

her

hom

e a

fram

edne

wsp

aper

art

icle

abo

ut h

is li

fe.

"I c

olle

ct a

ny k

ind

of p

ictu

re o

r ar

ticle

Ica

n fi

nd th

at ta

lks

abou

t Mr.

Kau

ffm

an. H

e w

assu

ch a

gre

at m

an. A

nd w

hat h

e di

d fo

r us

, for

all

the

kids

, tha

t was

suc

h a

won

derf

ul th

ing.

"

239

4-I

4SSO

NFH

Hig

h Sc

hool

Gra

duat

ion

Is N

otth

e E

nd.

Mos

t stu

dent

s an

d pa

rent

s w

ill s

ay th

at a

suc

cess

ful d

ropo

ut p

reve

ntio

n

prog

ram

is o

ne th

at s

ees

stud

ents

thro

ugh

to a

n on

-tim

e hi

gh s

choo

l

grad

uatio

n. B

ut is

that

eno

ugh?

Pro

ject

Cho

ice

wan

ted

mor

e fo

r its

stu

dent

s.

If th

e pr

ogra

m tr

uly

expe

cted

that

its

high

sch

ool g

radu

ates

wou

ld g

o on

to

colle

ge a

nd b

e su

cces

sful

, it s

tood

to r

easo

n th

at c

olle

giat

e-le

vel s

uppo

rt

serv

ices

wer

e a

nece

ssar

y pa

rt o

f the

Pro

ject

Cho

ice

prog

ram

. Alth

ough

tim

e

inte

nsiv

e an

d ex

pens

ive,

col

legi

ate

supp

ort h

elps

mov

e hi

gh s

choo

l gra

duat

es to

a ne

w le

vel o

f suc

cess

as

colle

ge g

radu

ates

.

2425

Paos

xcT

Cim

oilc

aL

EA

RN

ED

TH

AT

:St

uden

ts w

ho in

tend

to g

o on

to c

olle

ge o

r vo

catio

nal t

rain

ing

need

a h

igh

leve

l of

supp

ort i

nde

velo

ping

test

-tak

ing

skill

s,ev

alua

ting

care

er o

ptio

ns, a

nd th

enre

sear

chin

g an

d ap

plyi

ng to

col

lege

san

d un

iver

sitie

s. I

n ad

ditio

n, th

eyne

ed o

ngoi

ng s

uppo

rt to

pre

pare

for

and

man

age

soci

al c

hang

es s

uch

asle

avin

g ho

me

for

the

firs

t tim

e,m

anag

ing

a le

ss-s

truc

ture

d sc

hedu

lean

d un

ders

tand

ing

that

they

may

be

face

d w

ith d

iscr

imin

atio

n an

dal

iena

tion

in a

rac

ially

div

erse

wor

ld. P

rogr

am s

tude

nts

who

do

not g

o on

to c

olle

ge o

r vo

catio

nal

trai

ning

nee

d he

lp e

xam

inin

g th

eir

wor

kpla

ce o

ptio

ns.

Eve

n w

hen

tuiti

on, r

oom

,bo

ard

and

book

s ar

e pa

id f

or,

stud

ents

nee

d to

wor

k w

hile

inco

llege

to c

over

inci

dent

alex

pens

es. A

num

ber

of C

hoic

est

uden

ts in

dica

te th

ey h

ave

stru

ggle

d be

caus

e th

eir

exce

ssiv

ew

ork

hour

s ta

ke s

igni

fica

nt ti

me

away

fro

m th

eir

stud

ies. 26

"I k

now

whe

re th

ese

stud

ents

are

com

ing

from

," s

ays

Ber

nard

Fra

nklin

, for

mer

Ass

ista

ntD

ean

of S

tude

nts

and

Cho

ice

cam

pus

coor

dina

tor

for

Kan

sas

Stat

e U

nive

rsity

inM

anha

ttan,

Kan

. "It

's a

str

ange

env

iron

men

t for

urba

n co

re s

tude

nts.

Mos

t are

com

ing

from

an

Afr

ican

-Am

eric

an o

r m

ultic

ultu

ral h

igh

scho

olen

viro

nmen

t to

a m

ostly

Cau

casi

an c

ampu

s. B

utw

ith o

ngoi

ng s

uppo

rt, t

hese

stu

dent

s le

arn

how

to a

dapt

and

ass

imila

te."

Fran

klin

, him

self

a K

SU a

lum

nus,

mad

e it

his

pers

onal

res

pons

ibili

ty to

hel

p C

hoic

est

uden

ts p

repa

re f

or th

e so

cial

and

aca

dem

ictr

ansi

tion

from

hig

h sc

hool

to c

olle

ge, a

ndbe

yond

. As

Cho

ice

coor

dina

tor,

he

inst

itute

d a

sum

mer

enr

ichm

ent p

rogr

am in

whi

ch C

hoic

est

uden

ts, i

n th

e su

mm

er b

efor

e th

eir

juni

or o

rse

nior

yea

r in

hig

h sc

hool

, cou

ld c

ome

to K

SUfo

r a

few

wee

ks to

lear

n th

e hi

ghs

and

low

s of

cam

pus

life.

"Dur

ing

enri

chm

ent,

we

requ

ired

part

icip

ants

to li

ve in

the

dorm

s un

der

the

supe

rvis

ion

of a

res

iden

t adv

iser

," F

rank

linre

calls

. "Fo

r at

leas

t hal

f of

the

kids

, thi

s w

asth

eir

firs

t tri

p aw

ay f

rom

hom

e, a

way

fro

mK

ansa

s C

ity"

Part

icip

ants

wer

e in

cla

sses

all

mor

ning

, dir

ecte

d st

udy

in th

e af

tern

oons

and

disc

ussi

on s

essi

ons

in th

e ev

enin

gs in

whi

chFr

ankl

in a

nd o

ther

enr

ichm

ent s

taff

mem

bers

talk

ed to

them

abo

ut c

ultu

ral d

iver

sity

, sex

ual

resp

onsi

bilit

y an

d in

depe

nden

ce.

Whi

le th

e en

rich

men

t exp

erie

nce

was

ase

lf-c

onfi

denc

e bu

ilder

for

mos

t all

part

icip

ants

,th

e pa

yoff

was

eve

n gr

eate

r fo

r st

uden

ts w

hoen

ded

up a

ttend

ing

the

univ

ersi

ty. F

rank

lin a

ndhi

s te

am o

f pe

er a

nd f

acul

ty m

ento

rs m

ade

sure

that

KSU

Cho

ice

stud

ents

rec

eive

d an

arr

ay o

fsu

ppor

t ser

vice

s.

"We

wer

e th

eir

firs

t poi

nt o

f co

ntac

t for

ever

ythi

ng f

rom

cho

osin

g cl

asse

s to

buy

ing

BE

ST C

OPY

AV

AIL

AB

LE

spor

ts ti

cket

s, f

rom

hom

esic

knes

s to

nut

ritio

nco

ncer

ns,"

Fra

nklin

say

s of

Cho

ice

stud

ents

."A

nd w

e m

ade

sure

we

intr

oduc

ed th

ese

stud

ents

to o

ther

s w

ho c

ould

hel

p th

em, b

ecau

se w

e al

lkn

ow f

rom

exp

erie

nce

that

som

etim

es s

ucce

ssco

mes

dow

n to

who

you

kno

w.

"Als

o, L

ynn

Leo

nard

(C

hoic

e st

affe

r) a

nd I

kept

wee

kly

cont

act.

Lyn

n an

d I

talk

ed a

bout

thin

gs w

e w

ould

n't n

orm

ally

eve

n di

scus

s w

ithth

e pa

rent

s of

thes

e st

uden

ts. B

ut w

e ha

d to

be

stra

ight

with

eac

h ot

her

whe

n co

nduc

t or

othe

rpr

oble

ms

aros

e, a

nd w

e ha

d to

est

ablis

h ou

r ow

nse

t of

cons

eque

nces

for

stu

dent

s w

ho 'b

roke

the

rule

s.' T

he s

tude

nts,

thou

gh, h

ad a

rel

atio

nshi

pw

ith u

s an

d co

uld

trus

t and

dep

end

on u

s. "

Fran

klin

say

s he

wou

ld c

hang

e on

ly a

cou

ple

of C

hoic

e pr

ogra

m c

ompo

nent

s. F

irst

, he

says

, he

wou

ld e

ncou

rage

pro

gram

sta

ff to

net

wor

k w

itha

vari

ety

of p

ost-

seco

ndar

y in

stitu

tions

to c

reat

ea

bette

r br

idge

bet

wee

n hi

gh s

choo

l lif

e an

dco

llege

life

. Fra

nklin

als

o re

com

men

ds th

atco

llege

pre

para

tion

begi

n ea

rlie

r.

"It's

too

late

to s

tart

talk

ing

to s

tude

nts

abou

t col

lege

whe

n th

ey're

juni

ors

or s

enio

rs,"

he c

onte

nds.

"St

art b

uild

ing

expe

ctat

ions

inni

nth

grad

e or

eve

n ea

rlie

r, a

nd h

elp

high

sch

ool

stud

ents

dev

elop

a w

ork

ethi

c th

at w

ill s

erve

them

in c

olle

ge o

r w

ork

life.

And

stu

dent

s ne

edto

sta

rt a

col

lege

pre

p tr

ack

emph

asis

on

mat

h, s

cien

ce a

nd w

ritin

g ea

rlie

r in

thei

rac

adem

ic li

fe.

"We'

re a

t a p

oint

whe

re a

col

lege

deg

ree

toda

y ca

rrie

s th

e sa

me

wei

ght a

hig

h sc

hool

dipl

oma

did

20 o

r 25

yea

rs a

go. U

rban

-cor

est

uden

ts w

ho h

ave

an o

ppor

tuni

ty to

atte

ndco

llege

and

suc

ceed

will

car

ry th

at e

xper

ienc

eba

ck to

thei

r co

mm

uniti

es a

s ro

le m

odel

s fo

rot

her

kids

."

2711

_44ssoNsH

4 Scho

ols

Opt

Out

of

the

Gam

e W

hen

The

y A

re N

ot F

ull

Tea

m M

embe

rs.

Pro

ject

Cho

ice'

s pl

anni

ng te

am b

elie

ved

that

an

inde

pend

ent p

rogr

am th

at

coop

erat

ed w

ith a

sch

ool s

yste

m w

ould

func

tion

mor

e sm

ooth

ly th

an a

prog

ram

that

was

inte

grat

ed in

to a

sch

ool's

com

plex

bur

eauc

racy

and

regu

lato

ry s

yste

ms.

Cho

ice

wou

ld b

e a

self-

sust

aini

ng, e

ffect

ive

scho

ol

impr

ovem

ent m

odel

that

wou

ld a

nd s

houl

d be

man

aged

out

side

of t

he s

choo

ls.

Whe

n th

e pr

ogra

m w

as la

unch

ed, s

choo

l dis

tric

t offi

cial

s in

Kan

sas

and

Mis

sour

i

som

ewha

t agr

eed

with

Cho

ice'

s pr

emis

e of

inde

pend

ence

: the

pro

ject

's g

oals

wer

e la

udab

le, a

nd it

wou

ld c

ost t

he s

choo

ls li

ttle

in th

e w

ay o

f tim

e, m

oney

and

staf

f res

ourc

es. I

n re

ality

, with

out a

ves

ted

inte

rest

and

ear

ly in

put i

nto

the

plan

ning

and

des

ign

of th

e pr

ogra

m, s

choo

ls fe

lt lit

tle r

espo

nsib

ility

or

owne

rshi

p

of th

e pr

ogra

m, a

nd m

ost s

choo

l sta

ff m

embe

rs in

volv

ed w

ere

not c

lear

on

wha

t, if

any,

mut

ually

des

ired

outc

omes

wer

e to

be

achi

eved

.

Ove

rall,

Pro

ject

Cho

ice

had

a la

stin

g im

pact

on

the

indi

vidu

al s

tude

nts

it se

rved

,

and

it po

sitiv

ely

affe

cted

indi

vidu

al te

ache

rs w

ho b

enef

ited

from

and

val

ued

the

prof

essi

onal

dev

elop

men

t. C

hoic

e's

impa

ct o

n ch

ange

in o

vera

ll sc

hool

s,

how

ever

, rem

ains

to b

e se

en.

28

0 0 0 0 21

FcT

is C

1117

0 W

E11

, E1' 13

N E

'r ilg

AT

g

If a

pro

gram

is to

hav

e a

long

-te

rm e

ffec

t on

how

sch

ools

con

duct

busi

ness

, it m

ust i

nvol

ve te

ache

rs a

ndpr

inci

pals

ear

ly in

the

plan

ning

sta

ges

so s

choo

l sta

ff c

an d

evel

op a

sen

se o

fco

mm

itmen

t and

ow

ners

hip.

With

out

vest

ed in

tere

st f

rom

thes

e pa

rtie

s, a

prog

ram

can

live

onl

y as

long

as

the

spon

sor

keep

s it

aflo

at. T

here

isno

thin

g lik

e th

e su

btle

sab

otag

e of

with

held

ent

husi

asm

.

30

Lar

ry E

ngle

bric

k be

cam

e fu

lly a

war

e of

Proj

ect C

hoic

e an

d ju

mpe

d in

with

bot

h fe

etex

actly

48

hour

s af

ter

he h

ad b

een

nam

edpr

inci

pal o

f H

arm

on H

igh

Scho

ol in

Kan

sas

City

,K

an.,

in 1

989.

Har

mon

was

par

t of

the

smal

l-gr

oup

mod

el f

or P

roje

ct C

hoic

e, a

s op

pose

d to

aw

hole

-sch

ool e

ffor

t.

"I d

idn'

t hav

e a

lot o

f tim

e to

get

up

to s

peed

on w

hat P

roje

ct C

hoic

e w

as a

ll ab

out,

wha

t its

goal

s w

ere,

" sa

ys E

ngle

bric

k, f

rom

his

off

ice

at th

eK

ansa

s C

ity, K

an.,

Scho

ol D

istr

ict h

eadq

uart

ers.

"I d

id h

ave

the

sum

mer

, how

ever

, to

iden

tify

30st

uden

ts to

be

the

pilo

t gro

up f

or th

is o

ppor

tuni

ty,

and

we

got t

hem

and

thei

r pa

rent

s to

sig

n th

eC

hoic

e ag

reem

ent."

Eng

lebr

ick

reca

lls th

at th

e fi

rst y

ear

of th

eC

hoic

e pr

ogra

m a

t Har

mon

had

its

ups

and

dow

ns. T

hen,

Har

mon

took

the

prov

erbi

al b

ull b

yth

e ho

rns

and

mad

e a

com

mitm

ent t

o C

hoic

e an

dits

goa

l of

seei

ng s

tude

nts,

who

oth

erw

ise

may

not h

ave

had

an o

ppor

tuni

ty f

or p

ost-

seco

ndar

yed

ucat

ion,

gra

duat

e an

d be

com

e su

cces

sful

at

wha

teve

r th

ey c

hose

to d

o.

"We

appo

inte

d a

scho

ol s

taff

mem

ber,

"E

ngle

bric

k sa

ys, "

who

agr

eed

to s

tick

with

the

orig

inal

Cho

ice

kids

unt

il th

eir

grad

uatio

n; w

eim

prov

ed b

asic

ski

lls a

nd r

educ

ed a

bsen

teei

smam

ong

thos

e st

uden

ts; w

e ar

rang

ed f

or c

olle

geca

mpu

s fi

eld

trip

s th

at w

ere

offe

red

only

to C

hoic

est

uden

ts. A

nd, w

e as

ked

scho

ol c

ouns

elor

s to

prov

ide

som

e ex

tra

guid

ance

to th

e C

hoic

e ki

ds."

Thi

s sp

ecia

lized

str

uctu

re w

as n

ot d

icta

ted

by C

hoic

e; it

was

des

igne

d by

Har

mon

sta

ff in

an

atte

mpt

to m

ake

the

prog

ram

as

succ

essf

ul a

spo

ssib

le th

ere.

Eac

h sc

hool

that

join

ed in

the

prog

ram

had

to m

ake

its o

wn

set o

f gu

idel

ines

base

d on

indi

vidu

al s

tude

nt p

opul

atio

ns b

ecau

seas

sou

nd a

pro

gram

as

Cho

ice

was

for

stu

dent

rete

ntio

n, s

choo

ls w

ere

not i

nvol

ved

in th

epr

ogra

m's

initi

al d

esig

n.

"The

Cho

ice

staf

f w

as v

ery

help

ful a

ndav

aila

ble

to u

s. B

ut w

e be

cam

e ve

ry f

rust

rate

d,

espe

cial

ly th

e te

ache

rs,"

Eng

lebr

ick

says

. " E

ven

thou

gh w

e in

stitu

ted

a nu

mbe

r of

mea

sure

s to

hel

pth

e st

uden

ts b

e su

cces

sful

thro

ugh

Cho

ice,

we

set i

tup

wro

ng. W

e es

tabl

ishe

d a

man

dato

ry d

irec

ted

stud

y pe

riod

for

the

kids

dur

ing

thei

r si

xth

hour

each

day

, but

the

amou

nt a

nd v

arie

ty o

f w

ork

that

each

stu

dent

had

fro

m a

ll of

his

or

her

teac

hers

scho

olw

ide

prov

ed to

be

too

muc

h fo

r on

e st

udy

dire

ctor

to h

andl

e. I

t wou

ld h

ave

been

eas

y at

that

poin

t to

give

up

the

Cho

ice

prog

ram

. Tha

t's w

hen

we

mad

e an

othe

r ch

ange

that

I b

elie

ve w

as th

e se

cret

to o

ur s

ucce

ss w

ith C

hoic

e."

A h

andf

ul o

f H

arm

on a

dmin

istr

ator

s an

dte

ache

rs d

ecid

ed to

gro

up th

e 30

Cho

ice

stud

ents

toge

ther

so

that

eac

h st

uden

t was

rec

eivi

ng th

esa

me

core

cur

ricu

lum

fro

m th

e sa

me

teac

hers

.

"The

teac

hers

abs

olut

ely

led

the

effo

rt,"

Eng

lebr

ick

reca

lls. "

The

y w

orke

d to

get

one

conc

entr

ated

gro

up o

f st

uden

ts m

oved

fro

m o

nele

vel t

o th

e ne

xt, c

ulm

inat

ing

in b

ette

r gr

ades

over

all a

nd, u

ltim

atel

y, g

radu

atio

n. T

his

expe

rien

ce c

hang

ed th

e w

hole

way

teac

hers

com

mun

icat

ed a

nd ta

ught

at H

arm

on. I

bel

ieve

itw

as a

fir

st, c

ritic

al s

tep

in s

choo

l im

prov

emen

t."

"The

issu

es w

e w

orke

d th

roug

h w

ith C

hoic

ere

flec

ted

issu

es s

choo

lwid

e,"

Eng

lebr

ick

says

."E

ven

afte

r C

hoic

e w

as f

inis

hed

at H

arm

on, w

hat

we

lear

ned

abou

t fin

ding

new

way

s to

teac

hla

sted

. Out

of

Proj

ect C

hoic

e gr

ew a

cor

e of

teac

hers

who

wer

e fo

cuse

d on

sch

ool

impr

ovem

ent,

who

car

ry o

n th

at le

gacy

with

Har

mon

stu

dent

s to

day.

"

"Sch

ool c

hang

e is

a s

low

pro

cess

," E

ngle

bric

kco

nclu

des.

"It

occ

urs

over

dec

ades

, not

ove

rm

onth

s. I

thin

k pe

ople

look

at C

hoic

e an

d do

n't

real

ize

how

suc

cess

ful i

t was

as

a to

ol f

or w

orki

ngth

roug

h an

d ac

hiev

ing

long

-17

chan

ge."

BE

ST C

OPY

AV

AII

AB

LE

13

CE

32

Cho

ke P

rofi

§eg

Com

agdo

n

The

sto

ries

dep

icte

d in

this

boo

k ca

ptur

e th

ees

senc

e of

wha

t Pro

ject

Cho

ice

was

all

abou

t:he

lpin

g K

ansa

s C

ity-a

rea

youn

g pe

ople

at r

isk

ofdr

oppi

ng o

ut o

f hi

gh s

choo

l rea

lize

and

live

up to

thei

r po

tent

ial a

s le

arne

rs a

nd g

ood

citiz

ens.

Whi

le s

ix le

sson

s ar

e fe

atur

ed in

thes

e pa

ges,

the

Kau

ffm

an F

ound

atio

n do

cum

ente

d 10

less

ons

lear

ned

from

ope

ratin

g Pr

ojec

t Cho

ice.

The

rem

aini

ng f

our

less

ons

are

sum

mar

ized

her

e.

LE

SSO

N S

EV

EN

: FL

EX

IBIL

ITY

IS

KE

Y: B

E P

RE

PAR

ED

TO

CH

AN

GE

.W

hen

you'

ve g

ot a

s m

any

play

ers

invo

lved

in a

prog

ram

as

wer

e in

Cho

ice,

pro

gram

sta

ff m

embe

rsm

ust b

e re

ady

for

anyt

hing

, eve

ryda

y. C

hoic

est

uden

ts h

ad r

evol

ving

and

evo

lvin

g ac

adem

ic a

ndso

cial

nee

ds, a

nd s

choo

ls h

ad s

yste

ms

chan

ge a

ndef

fect

iven

ess

issu

es to

add

ress

. The

se tw

o fa

ctor

sal

one

coul

d br

eak

dow

n an

y pr

ogra

m n

ot p

repa

red

to b

e fl

exib

le. T

he "

Can

Do"

atti

tude

of

Cho

ice

staf

fm

embe

rs c

arri

ed o

ver

to th

e st

uden

ts a

nd s

choo

ls,

and

the

grou

ps w

orke

d to

geth

er to

trea

t eac

h da

y as

a po

ssib

le a

venu

e to

une

xpec

ted

oppo

rtun

ities

and

to o

verc

ome

thes

e ci

rcum

stan

ces

as b

est t

hey

coul

d.

Wha

t hap

pens

whe

n a

succ

essf

ul h

igh

scho

olst

uden

t dro

ps o

ut o

f th

e pr

ogra

m a

nd o

ut o

fsc

hool

alto

geth

er?

Wha

t hap

pens

whe

n a

choi

ceco

llege

stu

dent

has

to le

ave

scho

ol f

or a

sem

este

rfo

r fa

mily

rea

sons

, but

then

wan

ts to

ret

urn

to th

epr

ogra

m?

Wha

t hap

pens

whe

n a

teac

her

ism

isin

form

ed a

bout

his

or

her

role

in th

e C

hoic

epr

ogra

m?

The

Cho

ice

staf

f ex

amin

ed th

e pr

ogra

mco

ntin

uous

ly to

det

erm

ine

how

to im

prov

e da

y by

day.

Eve

n so

, the

re is

no

way

to p

redi

ct th

e su

cces

sof

indi

vidu

al d

ropo

ut p

reve

ntio

n pr

ogra

ms

beca

use

peop

le, p

lace

s, h

isto

ries

, eco

nom

ies,

clim

ates

, cul

ture

s an

d in

stitu

tions

all

diff

er a

ndm

ust b

e tr

eate

d as

one

-of-

a-ki

nd c

ircu

mst

ance

s.

33

LE

SSO

N E

IGH

T: K

IDS

NE

ED

ON

GO

ING

RE

WA

RD

S A

ND

RE

CO

GN

ITIO

N.

As

adul

ts, i

f so

meo

ne o

ffer

s us

mon

ey to

pay

off

a ca

r or

a h

ome

with

in f

our

year

s if

we

just

do

the

righ

t thi

ngm

ow th

e ne

ighb

or's

law

n, w

alk

the

fam

ily d

og, d

on't

get p

arki

ng ti

cket

s, k

eep

our

cars

was

hed,

sta

y em

ploy

edw

e're

like

ly to

jum

pat

the

offe

r, b

ecau

se in

the

gran

d sc

hem

e of

thin

gs,

four

yea

rs in

the

life

of a

n ad

ult s

eem

s lik

e a

drop

inth

e bu

cket

for

suc

h a

grea

t rew

ard.

But

for

som

eni

nth

grad

ers,

the

prom

ise

of a

pai

d co

llege

educ

atio

n ju

st d

oesn

't so

und

that

stu

pend

ous

beca

use

they

hav

e no

fra

me

of r

efer

ence

. Wha

tfu

rthe

r co

mpl

icat

es d

ropo

ut p

reve

ntio

n pr

ogra

ms

like

Cho

ice

is th

at th

ey a

re u

p ag

ains

t a s

tron

gop

pone

nt in

the

lives

of

adol

esce

nts:

pee

r pr

essu

re.

To

addr

ess

this

lack

of

enth

usia

sm a

mon

gst

uden

ts f

or w

hat w

as c

omin

g to

them

"do

wn

the

road

," E

win

g K

auff

man

and

the

Cho

ice

staf

fpl

anne

d w

ays

to m

ake

the

prog

ram

mor

e fu

n in

the

shor

t ter

m f

or s

tude

nts.

Fam

ily d

inne

rs, p

icni

cs,

soft

ball

gam

es, f

ield

trip

s an

d ot

her

even

ts w

ere

orga

nize

d to

pro

vide

"co

mpe

titio

n" f

or th

eac

tiviti

es th

at m

ight

hav

e di

stra

cted

the

stud

ents

into

doi

ng s

omet

hing

that

mig

ht v

iola

te th

eir

Cho

ice

agre

emen

t. D

ropo

ut p

reve

ntio

n pr

ogra

ms

like

Cho

ice

mus

t mak

e th

emse

lves

app

ealin

g in

way

s ot

her

than

fin

anci

ally

to k

eep

stud

ents

inte

rest

ed a

nd a

ctiv

e.

LE

SSO

N N

INE

: IN

CE

NT

IVE

IS E

XPE

NSI

VE

.M

ost f

amili

es f

eel t

he s

ame

pain

: Put

ting

one

child

thro

ugh

colle

ge c

an q

uick

ly d

rain

fin

ance

s,le

avin

g lit

tle m

oney

for

oth

er f

amily

nee

ds o

r fo

rot

her

child

ren

in th

e fa

mily

to a

ttend

col

lege

. It

stan

ds to

rea

son

that

pro

gram

s lik

e C

hoic

e th

atpa

y fo

r co

llege

edu

catio

n fo

r hu

ndre

ds o

f st

uden

tsca

rry

enor

mou

s pr

ice

tags

.

By

the

year

200

1, w

hen

the

fina

l cla

ss o

f C

hoic

est

uden

ts w

ill h

ave

grad

uate

d fr

om c

olle

ges,

34

univ

ersi

ties

or o

ther

inst

itutio

ns o

f hi

gher

lear

ning

,th

e K

auff

man

Fou

ndat

ion

will

hav

e sp

ent m

ore

than

$22

mill

ion

dolla

rs o

n tu

ition

, boo

ks, r

oom

, boa

rdan

d su

ppor

t ser

vice

s, b

oth

seco

ndar

y an

d po

st-

seco

ndar

y. B

ut e

arly

stu

dies

see

m to

indi

cate

that

the

inve

stm

ent p

ays

off

for

the

com

mun

ities

to w

hich

thes

e st

uden

ts r

etur

n to

wor

k. A

199

5 co

st-b

enef

itan

alys

is o

f Pr

ojec

t Cho

ice

reve

aled

that

eac

h cl

ass

ofC

hoic

e st

uden

ts w

ill c

ontr

ibut

e $.

3 m

illio

n m

ore

toth

e ta

x ba

se th

an s

tude

nts

in th

eir

clas

s no

t rec

eivi

nga

high

sch

ool d

egre

e.

It is

unu

sual

that

the

esta

te o

f on

e in

divi

dual

can

pay

for

a pr

ojec

t as

expe

nsiv

e as

Cho

ice.

Tha

t's w

hy E

win

g K

auff

man

hop

ed th

at o

ther

com

mun

ity o

rgan

izat

ions

and

fou

ndat

ions

wou

ldba

nd to

geth

er to

con

tinue

the

fund

ing

stre

am f

ordr

opou

t pre

vent

ion

effo

rts.

The

nee

d fo

rad

ditio

nal s

uppo

rt a

nd f

undi

ng s

ourc

es is

an

impo

rtan

t con

side

ratio

n fo

r an

y dr

opou

tpr

even

tion

prog

ram

.

LE

SSO

N T

EN

: PE

RM

AN

EN

CE

RE

QU

IRE

S C

OM

MU

NIT

YPA

RT

NE

RSH

IP.

As

men

tione

d in

Les

son

Nin

e ab

ove,

dee

p

invo

lvem

ent a

nd c

omm

itmen

t of

the

com

mun

ity is

nece

ssar

y in

sus

tain

ing

the

trad

ition

of

a su

cces

sful

drop

out p

reve

ntio

n pr

ogra

m. P

roje

ct C

hoic

e w

asw

arm

ly r

egar

ded

by th

ose

who

kne

w o

f it

and

unde

rsto

od it

, but

the

prog

ram

was

vie

wed

as

Mr.

K's

. With

out w

ides

prea

d co

mm

unity

inve

stm

ent,

the

prog

ram

was

des

tined

to d

isso

lve

over

tim

e. F

amili

es,

busi

ness

es, t

he r

elig

ious

com

mun

ity, t

heph

ilant

hrop

ic c

omm

unity

, sch

ools

and

gov

ernm

ent

all h

ave

a si

gnif

ican

t rol

e to

pla

y in

sus

tain

ing

prog

ram

s lik

e C

hoic

e. T

he m

odel

s fo

r st

uden

tsu

cces

s w

ork,

and

ther

e is

mon

ey f

or th

em in

the

priv

ate

sect

or, b

ut f

orgi

ng e

ffec

tive

coal

ition

s is

a

prog

ram

com

pone

nt th

at P

roje

ct C

hoic

e di

d no

t hav

etim

e to

est

ablis

h in

its

deca

de o

f op

erat

ing.

A le

sson

not

doc

umen

ted

here

is th

at p

rogr

amst

aff

mem

bers

mus

t be

dedi

cate

d to

the

long

-ter

m

life

of th

e pr

ogra

m. P

roje

ct C

hoic

e w

as f

ortu

nate

inth

at it

s st

aff

mem

bers

nev

er g

ave

up. T

hey

wer

eal

way

s on

cal

l for

the

stud

ents

and

the

scho

ols.

With

out t

he c

onsi

sten

t sup

port

and

com

mitm

ent o

ftr

aine

d, k

now

ledg

eabl

e st

aff,

pro

gram

s lik

e C

hoic

elik

ely

will

spe

nd v

alua

ble

reso

urce

s on

ove

rcom

ing

inte

rnal

dys

func

tion.

The

sta

ff m

embe

rs li

sted

her

ew

orke

d co

llabo

rativ

ely

with

thei

r kn

ees

bent

,al

way

s ex

tend

ing

them

selv

es b

eyon

d th

eir

wor

klo

ad to

mee

t the

nee

ds o

f pr

ogra

m p

artic

ipan

ts.

Proj

ect C

hoic

e ow

es a

gre

at d

eal o

f its

suc

cess

toA

NG

EL

YN

N B

AR

GE

, hig

h sc

hool

coo

rdin

ator

;A

ND

RE

W D

OM

ING

UE

Z, p

ost-

seco

ndar

ysp

ecia

list f

or s

choo

l ach

ieve

men

t; L

EO

NFR

AN

KL

IN, s

peci

alis

t for

sch

ool a

nd f

amily

serv

ices

; LY

NN

LE

ON

AR

D, p

rogr

am m

anag

er;

VIK

I L

UC

AS,

spe

cial

ist f

or s

choo

l and

fam

ilyse

rvic

es; A

DR

IAN

A P

EC

INA

, pos

t-se

cond

ary

spec

ialis

t for

sch

ool a

chie

vem

ent;

TO

M R

HO

NE

,se

nior

pro

gram

dir

ecto

r; G

WE

NR

ICH

TE

RM

EY

ER

, Sat

urda

y Sc

hool

dev

elop

er a

ndse

nior

res

earc

h an

d ev

alua

tion

prog

ram

spe

cial

ist;

AL

YC

IA R

OD

RIG

UE

Z, f

amily

act

ivity

and

stu

dent

supp

ort s

peci

alis

t; JE

AN

NE

ST

RO

H, f

inan

cial

coor

dina

tor;

and

SU

SAN

WA

LL

Y, s

enio

r pr

ogra

mdi

rect

or f

or e

duca

tion.

Wha

t the

Kau

ffm

an F

ound

atio

n le

arne

d fr

om

oper

atin

g Pr

ojec

t Cho

ice

fund

amen

tally

cha

nged

the

way

its

You

th D

evel

opm

ent d

ivis

ion

wor

ks to

cont

ribu

te to

the

heal

thy

deve

lopm

ent o

f ch

ildre

n in

our

com

mun

ities

and

in o

ur n

atio

n. T

he le

sson

s Pr

ojec

t

Cho

ice

lear

ned

are

just

one

par

t of

the

larg

er f

ield

of

drop

out p

reve

ntio

n st

udy,

but

thes

e le

sson

s co

ntri

bute

to th

e fi

eld

both

in te

rms

of p

rogr

am c

onte

nt a

nd

prog

ram

pro

cess

. How

ever

, pro

gram

s lik

e C

hoic

e ca

n

only

be

fully

mea

sure

d th

roug

h th

e pa

ssag

e of

tim

e.T

he jo

urne

y fr

om c

hild

hood

to s

elf-

suff

icie

nt

adul

thoo

d is

a lo

ng o

ne, b

ut w

ith s

elf-

dete

rmin

atio

n

and

supp

ort o

f th

ose

who

car

e, C

hoic

e st

uden

ts a

ndot

hers

like

them

are

des

tined

for

suc

cess

.13

5

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n ab

out t

heE

win

g M

ario

n K

auff

man

Fou

ndat

ion

orPr

ojec

t Cho

ice,

vis

it th

e Fo

unda

tion

Web

site

at w

ww

.em

kfor

g.

The

rep

ort t

hat d

ocum

ents

thes

ele

sson

s an

d de

tails

all

the

com

pone

nts

ofPr

ojec

t Cho

ice

is a

vaila

ble

in e

xecu

tive

sum

mar

y fo

rmat

on

the

Foun

datio

n W

ebsi

te a

nd c

an b

e or

dere

d, in

its

entir

ety,

ther

e

or f

rom

the

Kau

ffm

an F

ound

atio

n's

You

thD

evel

opm

ent d

ivis

ion

at 8

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unda

tion

and

can

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rder

ed th

roug

hth

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unda

tion

Web

site

or

by c

onta

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gth

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Des

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Gre

gg &

Ass

ocia

tes

Writ

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Abb

y S

ims

Edi

toria

l Ass

ista

nce:

Tom

Rho

ne,

Lynn

Leo

nard

, Joy

Tor

chia

Pho

togr

aphy

: Sco

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eple

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