Rexdale Community Health Centre: Reducing High School Dropout Rates

The purpose of this initiative was to determine whether or not residents of Jamestown would be receptive to bringing the Pathways to Education program to their community.

6 local youth were trained to conduct interviews and explain the program to members of the community. 106 youth and 28 parents were interviewed, 5 information sessions for parents were held, and two school staff presentations were made.

The end result of the community engagement process was that members of the Jamestown community were interested in participating in the Pathways program. As such, the initiative received additional funding from YCF in Round 3 to implement the program in the neighbourhood.

74 students from 15 Jamestown schools registered as of Dec. 31, 2008. Youth involved in the community engagement phase enjoyed learning more about their community and developed skills in research, program design and outreach.