ABOUT FOCUS FORWARD

Did you know that four in ten NYC high school students never earn a diploma?

For students who drop out of high school, the ramifications are costly:

• On average, those without a high school diploma earn $9,200 less per year than high school graduates – and about $1 million less over a lifetime than college graduates.
• High school dropouts are more likely to be unemployed, live in poverty, and become a teen parent.
• They are eight times more likely to become incarcerated.

You can help by supporting Focus Forward.

There are many programs that work with at-risk youth, but United Way of New York City’s Focus Forward initiative focuses on students who face the toughest life situations.

Many live in homeless shelters or group foster homes. Some cope with cope with domestic violence in their homes. Others must work to help support their family.

Staying in school and graduating take back seat to the challenges they face out of school and at home. As a result, many start to struggle in school, then stop going to school and eventually drop out.

How Focus Forward works

United Way created Focus Forward in 2006 to enhance Community Achievement Project in the School, our year-round attendance improvement and dropout prevention program in 110 of the city’s most under-resourced schools. CAPS provides mentoring and individualized case management support to students who are struggling. Some of these young people have missed anywhere from 27 to 75 days of school the previous school year.

Focus Forward is one of the only after-school programs in the City that improves the graduation rate of youth most at risk of dropping out by enabling them to earn credits towards diploma requirements. In addition, Focus Forward students participate in arts and cultural activities that their schools are unable to provide. They explore career options and learn how to prepare for college. All of this keeps them engaged and motivated to stay in school.

The results speak for themselves

Independent evaluations confirm that the combination of CAPS and Focus Forward works.

• Focus Forward students have a 11% higher attendance rate than similar students at the same school who did not receive any services.
• Last year, a total of 283 students earned full or partial credits toward graduation.
• The majority of students gained in self-esteem and self-confidence and felt more engaged in school.

Perhaps Focus Forward’s greatest value is demonstrating best practices that can be taken to scale through policy reform. United Way is working with the City to explore how our CAPS/Focus Forward holistic approach can be implemented citywide through coordination of school-based case management services and youth development after-school enrichment activities – so that tens of thousands of at-risk students can benefit.