Principal Shirley Joseph wants the Julius E. Sprauve School to initiate a work-study program to help potential school dropouts make a transition from the classroom to jobs that match their interests and abilities.
At a meeting Tuesday, Joseph introduced her plan to parents of students in eighth and ninth grade who are approaching their 16th birthday. "What we're targeting are students who will be turning 16 before the school year ends, students who are not motivated to be in school," she said. "We do not want them to drop out of school and be shiftless in the community."
For the most part, Joseph, assistant principal Mario Francis and school counselor Dario Bastian said, the students who have been identified as being at risk of dropping out of school are bright but unmotivated. "Our teachers are trying, but these students are not being reached," Francis said.
The Sprauve School work-study proposal is based on the School-To-Work program co-sponsored by the Education and Labor Departments. Joseph said those selected to take part in the pilot project would attend morning classes in English, math, science and social studies. In the afternoon, they would report for job training. Participants would also have the option of taking evening classes at Sprauve to study for their high school equivalency diploma.
At a Feb. 11 St. John Rotary Club meeting, Bill Wood, a career information specialist working with the work-study program, invited the Rotarians to consider sponsoring Sprauve students by providing opportunities in the "work" part of the program.
"The kids are 16 years old sitting in a class in the eighth grade," he said after that meeting. He described Joseph's plan as being "to keep them in Sprauve School for a year for a program she wants to develop." He also said that school administrators, working with School-To-Work officials, "want to find a way, through the Legislature, to develop tax breaks and incentives for the employers to get involved."
Now that the program has been explained to the targeted students' parents, Joseph said Tuesday, the next step will be to test the students on their work-related interests. The findings will be utilized in efforts to recruit appropriate host employers, she said.
Joseph and Francis said they're hopeful the pilot program will give students the support they need to move on to productive lives after leaving school.
Joseph is encouraged by what she has already seen in the St. John marine transportation industry, a traditional first-job provider, part time or full time, for many young men just out of high school. She said she has seen some former students, under the guidance of boat masters and older crew members, temper their youthful energies and become responsible, dependable workers.
