Louisiana has a dropout epidemic with almost 16,000 students in grades 7-12 dropping out of our public schools annually. At the request of Governor Jindal, an internal working group was established fall 2008 in the Department of Education to begin crafting an aggressive plan to address the dropout issue. Additionally, an outside Advisory Team was convened that consisted of secretaries and other representatives from state agencies and a local school district. Based on a review of the data to determine where to focus immediate actions, the Educational Mission to Prepare Louisiana’s Youth (EMPLoY) was developed and implemented beginning January 1, 2009 with an initial pilot of 14 school districts.

These districts, both rural and urban, were selected based on the high number of students in the PreGED/Skills Options Program as well as the high number of over-aged students in grade. Additional factors taken into consideration for selecting districts for participation were location in proximity to a Louisiana Technical College (LTC) campus and availability of work-based learning opportunities. Options students in the selected districts were divided into three educational functioning levels as determined by the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE): Tier 1-students functioning at 7th grade level and above; Tier 2-students functioning between 4th and 6th grade levels; and Tier 3-students functioning below the 4th grade level.

Students in Tier 1 participate in 5 essential components of a Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG)-like model:

1. Basic Skills Training toward GED – intensive use of scripted curriculum that has been developed by the Department and aligned with GED/State Curriculum. The scripted curriculum is augmented with literacy software.
2. 37 JAG Core Competencies (Soft Skills Training) and Work Keys Assessment for attainment of a Work Ready Certificate
3. Dual enrollment in an LTC and/or Industry Based Certification training with paid tuition using State General Funds appropriated for Career and Technical Education
4. Participation in work-based learning (paid work experience) with the Louisiana Workforce Commission, as well as business and industry partners, assisting in placing students in jobs
5. Assignment of a Jobs for American’s Graduates Job Specialist (an adult mentor) to students who will work to ensure that all components of the model are provided which is funded via a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Social Services utilizing Temporary Funds for Needy Families (TANF)

Students in Tiers 2 and 3 participate in literacy software to get them back on track and position them for success in middle and high school. The Literacy Office in the Department identified five research-based software programs that show promising results with students at very low literacy levels in this age group. Each vendor agreed to work with the Department at no cost to pilot the programs. The Department is working to fund the software for the 2009-10 pilots.