Helping prepare students for 21st-century workforce
Friday, November 25, 2011
By Laura Raines

The future strength of Georgia's workforce depends on helping more teens make it to high school and graduate.

The economics of education is not hard to grasp, said Stephen D. Dolinger, president of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, a 19-year-old organization that informs and inspires Georgia’s leaders about education issues. “A strong education system builds a strong workforce, which builds strong economic development,” he said.

It’s imperative to keep students in school through graduation and beyond to maintain a strong birth-to-work pipeline that is essential for Georgia to thrive in the 21st-century global economy. “Georgia’s graduation rates have gotten better. Seventy percent graduated in 2007; 81 percent in 2011, but they’re still not at the level they should be. We need more graduates who are prepared to continue their education and training,” he said.

Protecting that pipeline takes a community working together. “Schools can’t do it alone; nor can local chambers or parents. It takes everyone working together to drive change.” It helps to have an organization on the ground that knows how to implement best practices and enlist community support and resources. “The Sandy Springs Education Force [SSEF] is a good model,” Dolinger said.

Founded three years ago, the nonprofit organization has the goal of inspiring Sandy Springs students to graduate and become productive citizens.

“Sandy Springs is an affluent community, yet more than 50 percent of the students in our 11 public schools are economically disadvantaged and need a helping hand,” said Irene Schweiger, executive director of SSEF.

“We’re passionate about wanting to engage all kids in learning and helping them reach their full potential," Schweiger said. "We work with the schools to identify needs and find community partners to help us meet those needs. Connecting the dots is what we’re about.”

The group partnered with After School All-Stars Atlanta and the Georgia State University Research Foundation to start an after-school program at Sandy Springs Charter Middle School. It provides an hour of academic tutoring and an hour of sports/enrichment five days a week.

“Research tells us that many kids drop out between eighth and ninth grade. We show them they can succeed academically, and the enrichment helps them bridge the gap to high school,” Schweiger said. The program started with 60 children two years ago, and now serves 180.

Kelly Stewart, a former science teacher at Ridgeview Charter Middle School, saw her eighth-grade students' science CRCT scores jump 8 to 13 percent in two years after she received a grant from SSEF to put Gizmos in her classroom.

“Gizmos gave my students online labs and simulations that we couldn’t have done in middle school,” said Stewart, now school data analyst for Fulton County Schools. The program is visual, interactive and allows her students to grasp concepts and make connections they wouldn’t otherwise.

“Science will impact our country’s ability to stay competitive. It impacts reading, writing, math -- everything. It’s our responsibility to train students to be innovators, and I’m grateful to organizations like this and their commitment to our children,” she said.

Ava Wilensky’s son played basketball with at-risk students who didn’t get a lot of parental support in high school.

“We brought them home for dinner and to do homework together. A lot of kids just need exposure to the opportunities to understand that becoming a contributing part of the job market is the goal and that college or training is the path to get there,” said Wilensky, co-founder and chairman of the board of SSEF.

She’s implementing that idea on a broader scale with SSEF’s Senior Push program. North Springs Charter High School identified 54 seniors who had no post-high school plans. SSEF recruited and trained volunteers to mentor students. They helped them explore options, take the SAT or ACT, apply to colleges, fill out financial aid forms or explore the military.

With financial help for test and application fees, 78 percent of those students went on to complete post-high school plans. “Having just one person say ‘You can do this’ can make a difference,” she said.

SSEF also uses robotics clubs, Junior Achievement, successful leader talks and career information sessions to inform and inspire students to keep achieving. “We want all kids to have the opportunity to see what success looks like and to know how to get there,” Wilensky said.