I am proud of what my city has accomplished over the past decade in dramatically reducing the dropout rate, creating better options for students to reengage in school, and working across systems toward a shared vision of student success.

–Kimberly Braxton

Led by the National League of Cities in partnership with the National Youth Employment Coalition, Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN), Project U-Turn, and the School District of Philadelphia (SDP), the theme was “From Reengagement to Postsecondary.” Forty-five discussion sessions explored topics such as education and employment pathways, postsecondary bridging, pre-apprenticeship programs, best practices for out-of-school foster youth, barriers to entry in education and the workforce, and advocacy and policy gains, among others.

Philadelphia was a fitting location for the convening this year, considering that 2018 marks the tenth anniversary of the Reengagement Center in Philadelphia. Operated by the SDP’s Opportunity Network for alternative, or accelerated, schools, the Reengagement Center is a “one-stop shop” for information and resources for school reconnection. SDP has significantly restructured and increased options since I reported on these schools back in 2011, today offering 27 different options across the city for students to reengage. District leaders like Majeedah Scott, who led restructuring efforts, and Christina Grant, who runs the Opportunity Network and implements its accountability system, shared lessons learned during the conference.

Discussions from the Reengagement Plus convening revealed encouraging efforts across the country to ensure that all students, no matter what personal challenges they face, have access to educational opportunity. As a Philadelphia native and resident, it was especially refreshing to hear about the progress that Philadelphia has made in better serving whom we more recently refer to as, “opportunity youth.” I am proud of what my city has accomplished over the past decade in dramatically reducing the dropout rate, creating better options for students to reengage in school, and working across systems toward a shared vision of student success.

Much of Philadelphia’s success in reengagement efforts can be traced back to Project U-Turn, a local collective impact strategy driven by the 2006 release of Unfulfilled Promise: The Dimensions and Characteristics of Philadelphia’s Dropout Crisis. During the Reengagement Plus convening, PYN’s Roxolana Barnebey shared an update on the work: In 2006, the four-year graduation rate was a mere 52%. Ten years later the rate had inched past 65%. We still have a long way to go, but the change is meaningful for the students who found a path out of academic despair and persisted to complete high school. Project U-Turn recently renewed commitment to its reengagement mission as well as to dropout prevention efforts.¹

Philadelphia’s new workforce plan is another example of a local cross-sector collaboration effort intended to have a positive impact on the education and economic outcomes of the city’s opportunity youth, who were identified as a population of focus. “Fueling Philadelphia’s Talent Engine” aims to “align workforce education and training to the needs of employers.” During the leadership panel on day two of the convening, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney talked about how investing in our education system will lead to substantial economic pay-offs, including greater economic diversity of Philadelphia families, which can help level the playing field across the system.

All of the system leaders appearing at the conference, including SDP Superintendent William Hite, Community College of Philadelphia president Donald Generals, Department of Human Services Commissioner Cynthia Figueroa, and PYN president and CEO Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend, emphasized the importance of collaboration—building relationships, understanding each other’s systems, and using the expertise of the whole system to make changes that lead to many more students achieving their potential. I look forward to witnessing continued progress across our great city!