Network response to Globe Editorial (Truancy begins at home)

The Boston Globe ran an editorial on truancy on Monday, 9/29/08 – "Truancy begins at home". The editorial included what the Boston Youth Service Network feels is a misinformed opinion about community-based alternative education. Attached is our response (also copied below) and the original editorial.

September 30, 2008

To the Editor:

The editorial “Truancy begins at home” (September 29, 2008) puts forth unsubstantiated claims about the alternative education system in Boston. The assertion that “[m]ore work may need to be brought in-house instead of subcontracted to community groups” is misinformed and contradicts existing data and student experience.

Alternative education programs are not part of the problem as suggested in the editorial, but are part of the solution for successfully re-engaging disconnected youth. Community-based schools graduate students whom the Boston Public Schools (BPS) has been unable to serve. The majority of youth served are black and Latino dropouts with multiple risk factors—low-income, court and gang involved, pregnant, homeless, significantly below grade level. Such diverse needs are best addressed in small settings and nontraditional learning environments offered in community-based alternative education programs. According to a 2007 study by the Parthenon Group, average graduation rates for the community-based schools far exceed average graduation rates for the internal BPS alternative schools.

Community-based alternative education programs do significant outreach and re-engagement of BPS students who have left high school without a diploma. Recovered dropouts enrolled in a community-based school are more likely to receive their diploma than those re-enrolled in a traditional school. Programs also provide recovery options for older youth, including GED, training and career exploration programs. Community-based alternative education programs leverage significant resources that benefit BPS students. They are an integral component of a broader strategy to re-engage disconnected youth and move them towards a high school credential. These programs are part of the solution.

Heidi Hall

Network Coordinator

BOSTON YOUTH SERVICE NETWORK

The Boston Youth Service Network is a group of community-based organizations providing an integrated continuum of alternative education and career exploration programs to at-risk youth who have not found success in traditional systems. For more information, visit www.bysn.org or email heidi@bysn.org.