Pathways to Education: An Integrated Approach to Helping At-RiskHigh School Students by Philip Oreopoulos, Robert S. Brown, Adam M. Lavecchia describes Pathways to Education, a comprehensive
youth support program developed to improve academic outcomes among those
entering high school from very poor social-economic backgrounds. The
program includes proactive mentoring to each student, daily tutoring, group activities,
career counseling, and college transition assistance, combined with immediate
and long-term incentives to reinforce a minimum degree of mandatory
participation.
The program began in 2001 for entering Grade 9 students
living in Regent Park, the largest public housing project in Toronto, and
expanded in 2007 to include two additional Toronto projects. In all three
locations, participation rates quickly rose, to more than 85 percent, even though
parents and students were required to commit in writing to conditions and high
expectations of the program.
Comparing students from other housing
projects before and after the introduction of the program, high school
graduation and post secondary enrollment rates rose dramatically for Pathways
eligible students, in some cases by more than 50 percent.
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