February edition focuses on dropouts and jobs in one Philadelphia neighborhood

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

For the seventh time, the Notebook is tackling the city’s dropout crisis in its new print edition, and there will be a lot more to see, hear, and read about it on Monday – both here and on WHYY FM.

The edition takes a comprehensive look at dropouts and jobs in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. There, only one in four dropouts in their early 20s is working.

"What a train wreck," says Paul Harrington, director of Drexel University’s Center for Labor Markets and Policy, which conducted an extensive look at youth employment outcomes for the edition’s feature story.

In addition to a cover story that immerses readers in the painful struggles of young dropouts looking for work, the edition includes new data on citywide high school graduation rates. Philadelphia’s class of 2011 was the first class in memory to have a 4-year graduation that topped 60 percent.

The Notebook‘s work on dropouts is supported by major funding from Philadelphia’s Project U-Turn. The American Graduate project and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting also supported reporting for this edition as part of the Notebook‘s partnership with WHYY/NewsWorks.

Thanks to our partnership with WHYY, on Monday at 10 a.m., Radio Times will will devote an hour to talking about dropouts with guests including:

• Paul Harrington, Drexel University’s Center for Labor Markets and Policy
• Lisa Nutter, Philadelphia Academies and (Philadelphia’s first lady)
• Harvey Chism, Philadelphia Youth Network

And at 6 p.m. Monday on NewsWorks Tonight, reporter Benjamin Herold will introduce listeners to the subject of his cover story for the print edition. Twenty-year-old Monica Reyes (not her real name) dropped out of school at 17 and has been unemployed for the last year, putting in one unsuccessful job application after another.

"All [employers] say is, ‘Our hiring manager is not in,’ or, ‘We’re going to look at your application and give you a call back,’" says a frustrated Reyes.

Check the Notebook blog on Monday for the full multimedia spread.

If you can’t wait that long, a PDF of the full print edition is available online. Notebook members’ copies of the edition are in the mail, and it is being distributed around town starting today.

The Notebook and Young Friends of the Philadelphia Youth Network will host a happy hour to give us a chance to chat and reflect on this topic. Join us on Wednesday!