Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein Announce 5,000th Student Will Graduate from City's
'Learning to Work' Program*
*Office of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg Press Release
The program is administered by New York City Mission Society
at Harlem Renaissance High School.

Program Allows Over-Age Students to Earn High School Diplomas While Serving in Paid Work Internships

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein today announced today that the 5,000th graduate from the City's innovative career development program, Learning to Work, will earn his or her high school diploma by the end of this month. Learning to Work, administered by New York City Mission Society at Harlem Renaissance High School and launched in September 2005, helps students who are academically behind by at least two years graduate from high school while receiving in-depth job-readiness training, including paid internships. The Mayor, Chancellor, and Learning to Work participants from programs throughout the city were joined at the Harlem Renaissance High School in Manhattan by Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development Dennis Walcott, New York City Mission Society Executive Director Stephanie Palmer, and Harlem Renaissance Principal Mary Rice Boothe.

"When students fall two or more years behind in school, we as a City have two choices - throw up our hands and consign our kids to a lifetime of doors closed to opportunity, or find ways to help them across the line to graduation," said Mayor Bloomberg. "We've chosen the more challenging route - finding a different way - and we have found that given an opportunity to combine academics and opportunities to gain workforce experience, students respond positively. Learning to Work has improved students' odds of enjoying successful and rewarding careers, and that is good news for all New Yorkers."

"We launched Learning to Work because tens of thousands of predominantly poor, black, and Hispanic students were dropping out of City schools every year, and traditional forms of outreach and intervention were failing to reach them," said Chancellor Klein. "Learning to Work makes school more relevant for struggling students by supplementing academic instruction with paid internships and career counseling. Today, Learning to Work is recognized as a national model for helping at-risk students to get back on track. Its success is a testament to the hard work and commitment of teachers, administrators, community partners, and especially the students."

Outcomes for over-age and under-credited students - those who are more than two years behind academically - are much more positive for students who participate in Learning to Work programs than for similar students who remain in traditional high schools. Only 19 percent of over-age, under-credited students earn diplomas in traditional high schools, while the graduation rates is 56 percent for comparable students in transfer schools - small, academically rigorous, diploma-granting high schools designed to reengage students who have dropped out or who have fallen behind and earned fewer credits than expected for their age. The graduation rate in Young Adult Borough Centers with Learning to Work programs is 44 percent. The program also outperforms the school system as a whole in re-engaging and graduating male students. The vast majority of Learning to Work graduates are black and Hispanic, with black males representing 19.9 percent and Hispanic males representing 22.4 percent of its graduates.