SchoolWorks

Education is Key
Educational outcomes for children involved in child welfare and juvenile justice systems nationwide are abysmal. Recent research has found that only 50% of foster youth nationally graduate from high school.  Only about 5% are likely to earn a four-year college degree.  Foster children change schools much more frequently than other students and experience disabilities that impair their learning at much higher rates than their peers.  Youth in the justice system face similar challenges and similar outcomes.

SchoolWorks was created in 2002 to address these problems.  The program has served more than 2,200 children and youth in its first nine years of operation and has been very successful in keeping these vulnerable students in school and obtaining the support they need to be successful.

SchoolWorks Represents Children and Impacts Systems
Children referred to SchoolWorks are court-appointed clients of Youth, Rights & Justice, in kindergarten through highschool, who are having school-related difficulties in one or more of these areas: they are excluded or are not attending school, are academically behind or have significant behavior problems in school. Juvenile court involvement is a risk factor for future delinquent or criminal behavior, while school success has been shown as an important and effective way to prevent those behaviors.

SchoolWorks advocates work with parents, foster parents, schools and other agencies to make sure these most at-risk students are enrolled in school and receiving the services they need to be successful. Many have been re-enrolled in school, have moved to more appropriate educational settings, have received improved special education or other supportive services, and have had expulsions suspended or averted.

SchoolWorks gets Results

The SchoolWorks program has shown significant success in overcoming the barriers to educational achievement faced by children in foster care and youth in the juvenile justice system.  Click here for a summary of program outcomes. You can also read about the types of successes achieved by reading some of the stories of individual children and youth we serve.

Sponsors

We are grateful for the support of these foundations and grant makers who support the SchoolWorks program:

• Meyer Memorial Trust
• Oregon Law Foundation
• Portland Children's Levy
• Portland General Electric (PGE) Foundation
• Safeco Foundation
• Templeton Foundation
• Joseph E. Weston Public Foundation

In addtion, we are grateful to the sponsors who supported the 2011 Knowledge Universe Wine and Chocolate Extravaganza.  The annual gala supports our SchoolWorks program.  Click here for a list of sponsors in 2011 and 2010.