Dropout Prevention

United Way leads the Jackson’s Promise Coalition which is committed to increasing the number of Jackson Public School students who graduate on time prepared for college, work and life! Please join us for a meeting at United Way (843 N. President St., Jackson). All meetings are at 2 p.m.  (March 7, April 11, May 9, Jue 13, July 11, August 8, September 12, October 10, November 14, December 12–Holiday Party).

Jackson was chosen by America’s Promise Alliance as one of 12 Featured Communities in the country, and United Way was charged with leading the local coalition to increase graduation rates in Jackson because of the partnerships and programs we’ve established.  Since the award of that grant and a grant we received from United Way Worldwide/AT & T, our efforts in the area of dropout prevention have grown tremendously. We are committed to providing the 5 Promises to support our youth: Caring Adults, Safe Places, A Healthy Start, An Effective Education, and Opportunities to Help Others.

Dropout Prevention Work and How You Can Help:

Pages of Promise Book Drive: Some of our local libraries in the most financially insecure JPS school zones have very few (if any) copies of books on the JPS required summer reading assignment lists. We partner with BancorpSouth, The Clarion-Ledger, local McDonald’s restaurants, and State Farm Insurance to host a community-wide book drive to stock the shelves with books. We also host free workshops in the libraries and helped kids complete their required story boards and writing assignments. Click here to make a book or monetary donations to Pages of Promise.

Dropout Prevention Youth Council: We convene a group of teens to get their thoughts and observations on why some of their peers choose not to stay in school and enlist them to come up with ideas on how to reach those students and to encourage them to successfully complete graduation.

ACT Prep and English II Exam (required for graduation) Workshops: We  host free workshops in kids’ schools to help them prepare for graduation and beyond.

Summer Activities Guide: We compile and print a comprehensive guide of camps and activities for older youth. The guide is inserted in The Jackson Free Press and is distributed free to schools.

Early Intervention:

Excel by 5 Partnership: We have a strong partnership with Midtown Partners which works to ensure all of our kids have the developmental skills they need to succeed in school by the age of 5.

Imagination Library: A program started by Dolly Parton Foundation, Imagination Library provides a book a month, free of charge, delivered directly to the home of a child age 0-5. A donation of $30 covers the cost of a child for a month. Our leaders organization Young Leaders in Philanthropy has take I.L. on as their signature project. Area BancorpSouth, Regions, and Trustmark banks also support I.L. through drives in their branches and/or corporate offices.

NEWS & EVENTS:

Summer Reading Parties
Saturday, July 14th (10 a.m. - 2 p.m.) at New Horizon Church
Saturday, July 28th (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) at the Jackson Medical Mall
These are FREE events!

English II State Test Workshop
Monday, July 30th – Thursday, August 2nd (9 a.m. – noon)
Eudora Welty Library, 300 N. State Street, Downtown Jackson
Pre-Registration is Required!

United Way’s Jackson’s Promise Coalition selected as a KIDS COUNT Success Story for 2010 

Board Members LoRose Hunter (far left) and Robert Gibbs (far right) celebrate with United Way’s president Carol Burger (center left) and Dropout Prevention Coordinator Shawna Davie (center right) as they accept an award for success in dropout prevention.

KIDS COUNT is a project of the Family and Children Research Unit of the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State University. Each year an independent panel considers nominations for their annual Data Book of Success Stories across the state. This year’s Data Book focuses on Education, and the Jackson’s Promise Coalition was selected as the Success Story in the Graduation Rates Category.

United Way’s Jackson’s Promise Coaliton was honored with a legislative breakfast at Galloway United Methodist Church on Wednesday, February 2, 2011.  On Thursday, February 3rd at Christ United Methodist Church (9:15 – 3:15), our work was recognized at the 4th Annual KIDS COUNT Summit with the release of the data book and a screening of the Success Story DVD.