NWDI Performance Learning Center Graduation 2009

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CONGRATULATIONS NWDI PLC GRADUATES!

33 students graduated this June from the Newark Workforce Development Institute in the first graduation ceremony held by the Performance Learning Center at Rutgers University - Newark. (An additional 27 are scheduled to graduate in August 2009.) A program of Newark Public Schools Office of Alternative Education and Communities In Schools of New Jersey, hosted at the YES Center, the Newark Workforce Development Institute enrolls former drop outs in a rigorous curriculum designed to incorporate skills essential in the workforce in a schedule conducive to a life of both school and work.

The Newark Workforce Development Institute Performance Learning Center is the first of its kind, with a second Performance Learning Center beginning operation this Fall. It is based on a small school model for students disconnected from traditional school settings, working to remove non-academic barriers from student lives and allow them to concentrate on gaining their high school diploma and planning for the next phase of their lives.

"In Newark, PLC students have a team of people that support them, including the model's Services Coordinator, the Academic Coordinator, and 5 learning facilitators." A social worker provides one-on-one and group counseling, and a parent liaison works to keep parents of PLC students informed and works with students who are parents. The NWDI PLC's services team, made up of the Services Coordinator, Social Worker, Parent Liaison and Guidance Counselor, is dedicated to the success of each individual student - a dedication highly praised by students and district representatives alike during this June's graduation ceremony.

For many graduates, the reality of their accomplishment did not set in until the ceremony began with their procession into a room full of praises, applause and balloons. Many never imagined that their graduation day would be a reality, and student speeches were moving, full of gratitude, and challenging, in the face of a demanding world without the allowances and consistent advocacy that the PLC has provided.

One student speaker is determined to seek success for himself and to see his classmates achieve their best. "You will know you are the best," he stated, during an eloquent call for continued hard work from his peers, "when you forget how to make an excuse."

Another graduate tasted the sweetness of her success in the program much earlier in the Spring semester. Lakema Fowler became dually enrolled at Drakes College of Business before completing NWDI, and she graduated with honors from the PLC and with a certificate in computer technology from Drake College this June. Lakema has also been awarded a $10,000 scholarship as part of the Wal-Mart Foundation Communities In Schools Scholars Program. She will be adjusting to college life at Essex County College along with a number of her classmates.

Other institutions to be attended by NWDI graduates include Spelman University in Georgia, Benedict College in South Carolina, Virginia Tech, William Patterson University, Rutgers University, and a number of trade schools, technical colleges and the armed forces.

This Fall, Communities In Schools of New Jersey and Newark Public Schools in conjunction with the YES Center will launch a second Performance Learning Center, which will offer daytime educational options along with the afternoon and evening options already in place with the first PLC. Visit us at 200 Washington Street to learn more about the opportunities the Performance Learning Center and other alternative education programs have to offer.