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ESD 114
At-Risk Students Find Hope and Help at Olympic ESD 114 Truancy School

Kids identified as chronic Becca Bill truants now have a new option for finding success at school. Olympic ESD 114 opened the doors on its new Truancy Intervention and Prevention School (TIPS) in January.

“Over the last two years, we noticed an 11% increase in the number of truancy court petitions and we knew we needed to address this problem, said Awilda Jesionowski, OESD 114 High Risk Youth Program Director. “These students were not in trouble, but for a variety of reasons, they were not attending school and at-risk of either dropping out of school or becoming involved with the juvenile justice system.”

Housed at the Kitsap County Juvenile Detention facility, TIPS offers students the safety and security of a small class setting (total capacity is 15) where they can work on credit retrieval or GED preparation, learn social and life skills and most important, connect with caring adults who do not judge them based on their dysfunctional family culture or dislike for school.

“We ask them, what is your issue and how can we support you, and then we listen. For some of our students, this is the first time they’ve made a positive connection with any adult,” stated Michelle Conway, OESD Institutional Learning Specialist. “Our goal is to empower these kids by providing the tools they need to help them move forward to become productive, successful citizens – information that they may not have heard before coming to our school.”

TIPS support services include van transportation, lunches and snacks, and drug and alcohol assessments as needed. Students remain in the program until GED completion or until they are ready to transition to a vocational setting or back to their school district. Grant funding ends in August but the TIPS program will be continued in the 2010-11 school year through a partnership with South Kitsap School District.

“I believe it is a good system for kids who want to do better, like me, for example,” wrote one TIPS student.

More information about the TIPS program can be found at www.oesd.wednet.edu or contact Mrs. Jesionowski at 360.337.5552.

~Pamela S. Merrill, M.Ed., OUTLOOK Writing & Design, LLC