It Starts With Teachers Who Care
Non-profit Organization Aims to Improve
Education and Economy in Baton Rouge
By Christiana Johns
Most people may find it hard to believe that a student with a 3.5 GPA didn’t take the ACT, but Kacy Edwards and Julie Scott are all too familiar with scenarios such as this. As former teachers in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, both women taught bright students who ended up in minimum wage jobs after high school graduation. Most never knew when to take the ACT or how to apply to a college. Sick of complaining about the situation, they decided to make a change. “It doesn’t have to be this way,” Scott said. “We decided to become a part of the solution.”Post-Secondary Education
After eight years of teaching social studies at Tara High School and watching smart kids waste their talent and potential, they formed Career Compass of Louisiana. The non-profit agency’s goal is to help high school students succeed after graduation by linking them to post-secondary educational and career opportunities.
Career Compass helps students complete applications for colleges, universities, and the ACT/SAT; helps them fill out financial aid forms and find scholarship information; and also helps point them in the direction best suited for their needs and abilities. The organization also helps students with financial needs by applying for fee waivers, finding schools on bus routes and schools that have day cares.
Although most people would assume that this is the job of the guidance department, Edwards said guidance counselors are already so swamped with work that it is difficult to give thousands of students the individual attention they need. “We’re working with the guidance department as an extension of guidance,” Edwards said.
Act of Faith
With the influx of students into the East Baton Rouge Parish School System after Hurricane Katrina, the teachers knew their help was needed beyond their classrooms. They resigned from teaching in May 2006 to begin Career Compass. “It was an act of faith, but we knew it was something we had to do,” Scott said.The women said there is a need for a program like Career Compass because so many students are just ignorant of opportunities available to them. There are more than 30 colleges and technical and professional schools in the city and many students don’t even know they exist. “Nobody’s talking about college, the ACT or FASFA forms to them,” Edwards said. “Nobody’s helping them do that.”
Edwards said her 3.5 GPA student didn’t take the ACT because he didn’t know he had to. Despite his interest and skill with computers, he never received formal training in his field until he received help from Career Compass. He found an IT school where he could not only study computer networking but take care of his transportation problems by living on campus. “He just didn’t know what was available to him,” Edwards said. “He never would have gone to school.”
Broadmoor and Woodlawn
The two women began assisting students in their post-secondary education search by applying for vendor’s permits so they can be at Broadmoor and Woodlawn High Schools every day. Students came during their lunch breaks to seek their help and guidance.But their services are not limited to these two schools. Their goals are to increase the number of seniors receiving acceptance to post-secondary schools by 20 percent; increase the number of juniors taking the ACT by 100 percent; and reach at least 300 students by the end of the current school year. So far they have helped 50-60 kids in three months. By the 2007-2008 school year, they hope to be a presence in every high school in East Baton Rouge Parish.
So far the organization has received a lot of positive feedback. Scott said the students are excited about the services being free, and the business community has lent their support.
Funding Needed
One of the biggest roadblocks to the success of Career Compass is funding. Although the agency received a $50,000 grant from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, they need more money to continue providing free services to students.“I don’t think a lot of people are getting the message that we need funding,” Scott said. “We need more support from the business community. This is a real benefit to them because we are helping to fill in the open ends they already have in the workforce.”
Scott said that Career Compass wants to be a liaison between post-secondary schools and the business community. She said there is a huge gap between high school and the workforce because so many students do not receive the right training and education. “They try to bring in a lot of these companies but where are the workers? We want to work with the business community by providing the skilled workers they need while helping students toward success.”
Besides students who receive the education they didn’t know existed and businesses expanding with an improved workforce, the Baton Rouge community will also benefit along with the goals of Career Compass. With more people receiving better jobs, it puts more money back into the economy. And the more people who get a better education, the further the state can get toward improving Baton Rouge as a whole.
“Some kids come from homes where parents didn’t go to school, so this generation’s kids will see their parents going to school and mimic that.” Scott said. “There’s a potential to change Louisiana.”
For more information, visit Career Compass of Louisiana on the Web at www.careercompassla.org.