PCCY - Public Citizens for Children and Youth

A new Alliance for Excellent Education study reports that Philadelphia could have boosted its tax revenues by $18 million – if just half the high school dropouts from the class of 2008 had actually graduated. To help combat the city’s near 45 percent dropout rate and assist young people who want to return to school to earn their diplomas, the School District established the Re-Engagement Center in 2008. PCCY has produced a new poster encouraging pregnant and parenting youth to visit the center and take advantage of the resources available to help them complete their secondary education. The poster depicts a young woman dressed in a cap and gown handing her diploma to her pre-school son, the copy reading, “It’s not about you anymore…but you’re not alone.” The 750 posters will be distributed to health centers and county assistance offices and WIC offices citywide. “Kids who drop out are hard to find,” notes Colleen McCauley, Heath Director. “But over 90 percent of pregnant and parenting girls get pre-natal care. So the posters will go where they are, trying to catch kids who dropped out.”