Project GRAD Knoxville Honored by International Professional Group; Selected as Program of the Year

	Jerry Hodges Knoxville Project GRAD Director

Oct.18, 2006 - The International Association for Truancy and Dropout Prevention honored Project GRAD Knoxville as “Program of the Year” at its 96th Annual Conference held in Baltimore on October 8 – 12, 2006.  The honor was announced by GRAD Executive Director Jerry Hodges on his return from the conference where he accepted the award for GRAD. 

The International Association for Truancy and Dropout Prevention (IATDP) is an association of educators, government officials and stakeholders whose history of truancy and dropout prevention efforts date back to 1911. The group’s mission is to create a partnership which facilitates the dissemination of information, emerging practices and research designed to support learning and increase high school graduation rates.

“Our entire Project GRAD Knoxville team is truly honored to have been nominated by Jimmie Thacker, Director of Student Transfers for Knox County Schools, and selected for the International Association for Truancy and Dropout Prevention “Program of the Year,” said Hodges.  “Our common goal is preventing dropouts and increasing high school graduation rates so this recognition is certainly a great validation of the GRAD approach.”

Anchoring the GRAD approach is the Campus Family Support component which places social service professionals on-site in each of their 14 urban schools to work with students and families to promote academic success.   Principals and faculty of the 14 GRAD schools credit the Campus Family Support component as critically important to the successful academic results their students and schools are now achieving. 

In 2005 the Campus Family Support (CFS) team received 5,109 referrals, and made 414 home visits.   Included in those referrals were 2,229 basic needs that were met at school, 471 were emergency assistance requests, 920 were non-emergency assistance requests.
The GRAD Campus Family Support (CFS) teams have worked with principals and staff to strengthen programs designed to increase attendance and decrease tardies.

CFS is in place in all 14 schools as of 2005-06.  In the 10 elementary schools CFS staff continues to refine interventions already in place such as daily phone calls, attendance boards, attendance parties, sunshine clubs etc. On the middle school level, the H.E.R.O. Club (Here everyday ready and on time) at Whittle Springs expanded school wide and is under the direction of the principal.  Vine Middle Magnet continues providing weekly parties for perfect attendance. For tardies, letters are sent home and home visits made as warranted. Both high schools’ CFS staff has also implemented recognition and reward programs to address attendance and/or tardies.

The Campus Family Support team also coordinated 14,967 volunteer hours of assistance including 5,273 mentoring hours by community volunteers, and worked with 328 community partners and 20 college interns to meet student needs.  Other activities included arranging 65 clubs or groups at schools for students, and facilitating 185 Big Brothers/Big Sisters matches at school.  

GRAD believes every child can learn with the right support, at the right time.  The less time teachers spend resolving disciplinary problems, the more time kids spend learning in the classroom. Project GRAD Knoxville’s ultimate goal is to encourage, support and empower 7,500 students to graduate and achieve their dreams

About Project GRAD

Project GRAD- Graduation Really Achieves Dreams – enhances the way students are educated and supported by parents, schools and community from kindergarten through grade 12. The Knox County Schools/GRAD partnership is a 12-year commitment to 7,500 students in 14 urban elementary, middle and high schools to help them achieve their dreams through graduation from Austin-East and Fulton High Schools.  GRAD offers every graduate the opportunity to qualify for $1,000 annual scholarship for four years to an accredited college or technical school of their choice.

Project GRAD Knoxville school sites are:

Beaumont Elementary/ Magnet Honors Academy
Belle Morris Elementary
Christenberry Elementary
Dogwood Elementary
Green Magnet Science & Math Academy
Lonsdale Elementary
Maynard Elementary
Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Technology & Science Academy
South Knoxville Elementary
Spring Hill Elementary
Vine Middle Performing Arts and Sciences Magnet School
Whittle Springs Middle School
Austin-East Performing Arts and Sciences Magnet High School
Fulton High School

Project GRAD at a glance

Mission: To help ensure a quality public school education for Heart of Knoxville students that equips and encourages youth to graduate from high school and to succeed in college or post-secondary vocational educatio