Junior A. Fabiano
April 7, 2009
Willard John Kraemer Jr.
April 9, 2009
Gov. Bobby Jindal was at the Terrebonne Parish Main Library in Houma Friday to promote a new state Department of Education pilot program offering work-skills training to high school students in Louisiana.
Terrebonne was one of 14 parishes selected for the Educational Mission to Prepare Louisiana’s Youth (EMPLoY) program that began on Jan. 1.
EMPLoY, which overhauls a previous alternative track program, offers training in industrial jobs and improving reading skills.
The parish has 375 students participating in the program, intended to help stem the flow of the approximately 13,500 high school students who drop out in Louisiana yearly.
The PreGED/Skills Option Program, established more than a decade ago for high school students to obtain marketable work skills, is not effective, according to a Department of Education news release.
Jindal said only 5 percent of the high school students enrolled in the program are receiving GEDs (General Equivalency Diplomas).
“Those not finishing their education have a harder time getting good-paying jobs,” he said. “We urge them to complete their full education.”
Parishes were selected for the pilot EMPLoY program based on the number of at-risk students whose reading skills need remediation, workforce demands in the area, industry support for work-study opportunities, and the presence of technical colleges.
Companies are concerned about finding skilled workers, Jindal said.
“The program provides GED support so students not finishing high school can be in the workforce,” he said. “You have to take advantage of initiatives. The dropout rate is a workforce issue… We need to target the dropout rate. It’s critical to be competitive.”
Jindal said the program is already showing results. Reading scores among parish high school students are improving. Math scores for students at South Terrebonne High School are also increasing, he said.
EMPLoY uses as a model the more successful GED-support program Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG), which graduates 65 percent of its students on time and places 94 percent in full-time jobs, according to Jindal.
JAG relies on the use of mentors, a practice EMPLoY incorporates.
Jindal said EMPLoY is continuing to look for businesses and industries to provide mentors and internships.
EMPLoY’s $2.55 million cost is being paid for with existing Department of Education funds and with federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families money.
Jindal said the pilot program will help determine how best to proceed.
“Students have to see the future for themselves,” he said. “At-risk students can’t see a tangible pathway to work.”
Gov. Bobby Jindal chats with Terrebonne High School Option III teacher Bill Boudreaux and student Ashley Moore after his EMPLoY program announcement on Friday. EMPLoY is designed to curb the state’s high school dropout rate by providing students’ needed job skills. * Photo by KEYON K. JEFF
