
...An eclectic mix of local Politics, Education, Community Affairs, Environment, History, Birding,Jamaica Bay, Ridgewood Reservoir, Forest Park, and other assorted items of interest... Concentrating on the Borough of Queens in New York City...and the neighborhoods of Ozone Park, Howard Beach, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park...and Community Boards 5, 6, 9 and 10...
Thursday, May 31, 2007
NY-1: DOE Unveils Funding Program To Combat Drop-Out Rate...
Watch video report...
The Department of Education unveiled a funding program Wednesday to keep 20,000 teens from dropping out of school each year. The "Drop Out Prevention Initiative" would provide $9 million to help combat the city's 32-percent drop-out rate. One way the money would be used is to help out those who have already quit school. "We teach vocational training and we help them get their GED, and then we find them get a job,” said Hector Batista of the Vocational Foundation, Inc. “We give them the skills necessary to be able sustain a job and that's what's good about this initiative; it allows organizations like mine to really work with this population. If we don't deal with them, we're going to deal with them in another area." The money, which needs to be approved by the City Council and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, would be given to organizations that educate parents, students, and faculty about the problem.
