Adult and peer mentors are critical to success. This has come up over and over again, with YouthBuild classes. It also came out as one of the many needs of non -graduates as revealed in the recent America’s Promise report, “Don’t Call Them Dropouts”. These young people are full of potential; they want a rewarding future, and an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty, not just for themselves, but also within their community. 

I have a piece up today on Huffington Post that looks at this in greater detail.

"’How many of you came here primarily to get a GED?’ Many hands go up. ‘How many came primarily to get a job?’ Many more hands go up. ‘How many of you, if you thought you were joining a great movement to end poverty and injustice and fix the conditions of poverty in this community, would want to join?’ All hands go up.”

Read the full piece on Huffington Post.