LOS ANGELES, April 5, 2019 — Remember your first semester in college…freedom from the structure of high school? Nobody telling you what time to wake up and go to class or when to study? That transition into adulthood is exciting, and fortunately most people figured out that if they didn’t go to class and keep up with studies, they would fall behind pretty quickly. But that’s not the case for the 30 percent of students who drop out of college in their first year.
Learn4Life, a dropout recovery program for at-risk high school students, is helping students who want to go to college have a better chance at success than the national average. These are courageous young people, most of whom have struggled to re-engage with their education after falling far behind or even dropping out of high school. They get personalized learning, infused with career planning and life skills, to prepare them for the unstructured, stressful adult world.
This network of 80+ schools is offers career pathways with dual enrollment at local community colleges. One partner is Fresno Community College (FCC), where students can take classes in medicine, law enforcement, business/entrepreneurship and automotive without paying tuition. They have a chance to experience college-level classes in a safe environment at Learn4Life, with support from their teachers, counselors and mentors.
Learn4Life celebrates National Community College Month and beyond by working to add more community college partners. Its students in dual enrollment are often more successful than first year college students from public schools, because at Learn4Life they have learned to manage their time and avoid procrastination. They gain confidence in their ability to learn, and gain skills to be resilient in the face of obstacles. Read more about Learn4Life’s approach.