We work with 16 to 24yearolds who have dropped out of high school, who dont have a High School Diplomae1 or g. E. D. Were a t Walkin Center located in the departmentni ofq employment services. There are five of us. Can get theirnr3w g. E. D. Ordiploma. Are we pleating those needs for our youth such as unemployment, transportation issues, homelessness, food instability . Are we working on those issues child care for example . And what the Reengagement Center does is look at those particular needs of our students address those, and then talk about Educational Options for them. You address them specifically for exampleriv÷ pnpram provides vouchers for child care. ni thats a big issue f lets say, teen mothers . Absolutely. The majorityni of our teen mothersxdni k5asx u qb why they left school to support that young, you know, that young t rr d. We have students homeless andco you know how can yout ni focus on algebra and english when you dont know where youre going to sleep tonight . We have students who have,ni to go hq school because they dont have transportation or because theyve left school so they can support a Family Member by n sworking. So the stories are different every day someone walks in. And what you just talked about are some of the main barriers toxd finishing high school . Absolutely. Your program is, i understand modeled after similar programs in other citiest like boston and philly . Absolutely. They have very successful programs in both boston and philadelphia. Wexd actually, before we opened the t Reengagement Center, visitix iahp hc the Boston Program to make sure that we were on the right track for the district of columbia. Weco acknowledge that our residents here in d. C. Are different than ther boston. But its the sameq groundwork of making sure that you address theq barriers that young people have to getting that High School Diploma or g. E. De before placing them into a school ore1 environment program. Do you fine theres an epidemic oflpe1 youngsters these days not wanting to go to school . When i say epidemic, ir among those who drop out, because not everybodysnr dropping numbers are moving in the . auposite direction. So aco recent study showed 60 of young people that were polled want to go back to school. They just werent sure how to go about doing it. And thats why the office of the state superintendentfa of education conducted this study and found over co7500 District Youth were out there and werent a 9 anfa educational placement thatq offered High School Diploma or g. E. D. Theres a big push to get c ursay, the Reengagement Center does exist andq where that onramp to getting intoni placement but also understanding that there are very real obstacles in their life thats successful this second, this third fourth time around unless we address them. And i would jump in and say that, you know we havefa a uniq o r t hahp hc process with how we reconnect young people to schools and communitybasede1 organizations that offer g. E. D. And High School Diploma part is learning and barriers they experienced where they are academically and really making sure that when they finally do reconnect to school, its a place where theyre most successful. And that were fortunate to be able to work with about 30 different programsfa around the city that have very different offerings and very different approaches to how to educatejn young people and how to support education. Talkfa this morning is about the new youth reengagement Center Located in northeast washington. Well continue our discussion after this. You wish your dog could fight off fleas and ticks. But since he cant. You rely on frontline plus. Because frontline plus unleashes a deadly killing force to kill fleas and ticks, plus flea eggs and larvae, preventing a new infestation. Its protection lasts a full 30 days. No wonder frontline plus is the 1 choice of vets for their pets and yours. After all, your dog is a lover not a fighter. Frontline plus. The vets 1 choice. Wshgelcome back. Talking about the youth Reengagement Center in the district. Joining us on viewpoint is Daniel Childs who is 21 years olding a client at the center. Take us back to age 16 when you dropped out of school. Age 16, i dropped out. My mothers house had just went up for foreclosure, and we were moving around place to place you know with different relatives and things. Actually my mother had like moved with, like a relative that i couldnt like go stay with us. So i just i went my own way. I went to my grandmothers house for about six months and she passed away. I found her on the floor, and you know that really devastated me. So to the streets, you know. So you spent all of those years out of school. Did you, in the back of your mind, say i really want to be in school, i should be in school . Yes, i did. I did. But i felt like at that point, school wasnt the greatest opportunity for me. I felt like fast money was the greatest opportunity for me which now that i look back on it is stupid. Uhhuh. Its real stupid. When did that thinking change for you . What prompted the change . Well, basically my father passing away. I made a promise to him i would get myself back in school and do right before he passed away. So youre keeping a promise now . Yeah, to him, and to myself also, you know . I got to do it for myself, not only for him, but for myself. How much progress has the district made in addressing the dropout issue, according to the Pew Research Center, the trend across the country is that fewer hispanics and africanamericans are dropping out, and in fact dropout rates High School Dropout rates, are much lower than theyve been in a long time. So, yeah dropout rates have decreased across the nation in general. Were still struggling to address those issues in the district. I will say there are a lot of Additional Resources at the school level, a lot of social workers at buildings a lot of counselors at each of the buildings. So theyre able to address a lot of the issues, like daniel had faced with losing relatives and homelessness. Theres homeless liaisons in each of our schools. That does assist with dropout rates in the schools. But we also know that, just like daniel here, he needed a place to go where he could find a way to get back into school and what the Reengagement Center does is we serve as that onestop shop where any one 16 to 24 can be placed into the different schools here. What we found is that weve been highly successful weve been able to reach over 200 youth so far in the district. Out of the 200, weve had 100 of them to actually be full intake clients and out of the 100, 50 are back in school, to receive the g. E. Ded. Or High School Diploma. Success stories popping up already. Absolutely. Isaac, following up on the Pew Research Center and the trend not only are more High School Students staying in and finishing high school theyre going to college . Absolutely. So i think that we have a lot to learn about this issue from the 7,500 young people between the ages of 16 to 24 who are in front of us today who dont have a High School Diploma who dont have a g. E. D. And every day a young person walks through our door, like daniel and many other who do, we learn more about what this group needs to be successful to graduate to go on to become a part of the labor force, to become part of those who are earning, you know secondary and post secondary credentials. And were really fortunate to have this group of 30 about 30 really amazing Educational Programs that offer High School Diploma and g. E. D. Who we can communicate this back to and hopefully can continue to better serve this group of young people. You turn no one away. Even if a 30yearold walks through the door you find a way to help . We have a no turn away policy. D. C. Government, Customer Service says that, we wont turn anyone away. If anyone walks through our door well find a way to assist them. Well call up some partners that serve the 30yearold population and say, hey we had someone visit us today wed like to send them your way. They welcome them with open arms. But its district government policy to provide 100 service and that says no wrong doors. Weve got to attack another break. Well continue after this. Were talking this morning about the youth Reengagement Center in the district which targets High School Dropouts, doing a great job. Isaac, you were explaining your best fit program and how that helps students find the right school to go back to and how to get enrolled in those schools and to get their g. E. D. S. Okay. So basically, a young person walks through either through a referral or because theyve watched cnn or nbc or this is nbc. And they walk through the door and we sit down and have an informal conversation with them about what are the reasons that theyve left school what are the barriers theyve experienced, where are they academically. And then we take all of that information and within ten days we go out to three schools that we believe to be best fit based on all of the information that weve learned from the young person during the intake, and im sure daniel can tell you what those site visits are like. But its real lay time when the young person gets to interview and see what the Program Looks Like and for the program to look at young person and say, is this going to be a best fit . We get back in the car and hear what a young person really thinks, if they can see themselves thriving there. Daniel tell us about the site visits. Well, i had three site visits. One of the site visits, it was it was like i was too young to be there. I was too young to be there. It wasnt people in there like my age, peers my age i can connect with, you know what im saying . The second site, i really dont remember that. Layc, yeah the second site, it was okay but it was too far. Too far. Where are you no. Covenant house of washington. Tell us about your program. Family oriented. I love it. Theyve got a Music Program there. I just love it. I love it there. Its great. So jasent you taylor the programs to fit the students and their individual situations. Absolutely. The difference this time around is youre not taking the student and saying this is where you must enroll in school. Were actually taking a student and saying you tell us if this is the place that youd like to enroll and where you think youll be successful. And like i said, the great news is because were the office of the state superintendent of education, were anonymous, we dont have to place at any particular location. A student can say to us this program was too old for me i need something younger or you know this one is a little too far, im not able to come to School Every Day on time, or this is it. This is where i feel like im going to be best served. We also try to get them different learning styles. What do they need . An instructor oneonone instruction do they need selfmotivated, selfguided learning . We go through all of those options with the young person so they can make an informed decision. And isaac, they get case managers to help them walk through the process . Absolutely. So our reengagement specialists and daniel has an amazing reengagement specialist, dana simpson, really handhold through the entire process of overcoming initial barriers helping collect all 0 the enroll enrollment documentation get through the tedious process that can turn young people away, to the point of walking, you know into the first day of class and after that for an entire year after that young person begins school you know, dana will be checking in with daniel on a weekly basis, making sure hes going to clasp i mean again, i think the best spokesperson is probably daniel on this. Okay. Well talk to you about that. Well pick up right there after we take another commercial break. Is that okay . Thats okay. Well be right back. Daniel, another question for you. Do you still need someone to push you . To make you go to School Every Day . Yes, i do. Really . Yes, i do, because sometimes i tend to get a little outmotivated. With my father passing and grandmother passing, one of the two main people who really pushed me to finish school you know . So, like i really need that push. And i have people who push me like miss dana simpson. Resource specialist . My reverse specialist, yes. Ive got a best friend, he man, hes on me like crazy, like, he pushes me to no to a no count. Jasent do most students need that . Absolutely. We modeled our reengagement strategy after boston and philadelphia which studies show that young people need at least a year of the push after theyre actually enrolled in g. E. D. Or High School Diploma program, simplely. Because sometimes there will be something new that presents itself in their life, or that old barrier comes up and they need someone to say we still have your back. Isaac, are parents part of what youre doing . Absolutely. Many of the young people who come through the Reengagement Center are parents themselves so their automatically integrated into the conversation and were helping find child care, we are incorporating the entire family even if someones not totally in the picture, especially for our 16 and 17yearolds. Familys a huge part of placement because they really need to buy into the process. You also have a pretty intensive Outreach Program . Absolutely. One of the Biggest Challenges is finding all of the young people and getting them to walk through the doors. So over the last six months since weve been open weve embarked on exciting partnerships with different city agencies, so weve trained 3,000 metropolitan Police Officers so they can make direct referrals to us. Weve trained folks in the juvenile justice system. Weve trained lawyers. Weve trained folks who work in the Child Welfare system. I think, after a year, we could say that were successful if everyone in the district who interacts with young people knows that the d. C. Reengagement center is a place for young people to come and reconnect. Jasent if they want to go on to college, you can get them enrolled in or point in the direction of Tuition Assistance program . Absolutely. We fall under post secondary and Career Educational division of the office of state superintendent education which has d. C. Tag program, Tuition Assistance grant, and make sure our people know it doesnt stop with the High School Diploma or g. E. D. , we believe in you, we know you can on tan that college career. We connect them with that provides Financial Resources for colleges and universities throughout the nation. Do you want to go to college . Yes i do, for music, yes. I want to pursue my music full time. But i know i have to go to school, and like work really hard at it. If that doesnt work out, i have a second plan. I plan on going to college for hvac. Okay. Do you think do most of your friends like school . Do they like the notion of being educated or would they just like to skip over that . I think they would like to skip over that width like which is wrong with the youth in d. C. Now. I feel like i can be an advocate and model for people who want to get back in school, for people who want to do better. I feel like i can lead the way for them. I feel like i can do that. Thats what its all about. Yeah, it is. Really is. Were really proud of you. Thank you. Im proud of myself. I didnt know i could come this far. Im this far, and im going to take it head on. 100 . Were rooting for you. Thank you. Daniel childs, who is at the youth Reengagement Center and doing a great job. Jasent brown director of the center and Isaac Hammond paul thank you all. Thank you for having us. Thanks for the work youre doing and sharing it with us. Thank you. Thank you for being with us this morning on viewpoint. Im pat lawson muse. Stay with us, news4 today is next. If you run over somebody its usually because you were driving too fast or you didnt look before you turned or you didnt stop for someone in the crosswalk. Always be alert. Pedestrians dont come with airbags. News4 today starts now. Right now, news4 today, a toddler is hit and killed this morning learning new details the driver may have been a relative. You might see frost walking out the door this morning. Starting off cold cold cold, when chuck says things are going to warm up . Playing the waiting game. Hillary clinton expected to announce she is running for president. What president obama is revealing about his support. And right now, were working to find out the condition of two people hurt in a wrong way crash on the beltway overnight. Take a look live look at outer loop near the exit for landover road. Its clear now, but the scene just a few hours ago was dramatic. You can see it