Understanding the causes of disconnection and identifying effective solutions
The Book Works has collaborated with partners to better understand the causes of disconnection and identify effective solutions:
• 2017: Conducted a year-long Youth Voice research project with Spalding University School of Social Work. The research highlighted the unmet needs of disconnected youth as they describe them, including housing, transportation, and assistance from mentors to make future plans.
• 2019: Collaborated with the Courier Journal on a series highlighting Disconnected Youth in Louisville. The articles outlined the substantial economic impact of out of school and work youth on our community.
• 2021: Developed and delivered Education Advocacy training to community partners, young people, and near-peer advocates to assist high school age learners get back on track with education.
• 2021: Produced Pathways to Graduation, a directory of local options for completing high school.
• 2022: Coordinated the Education Advocacy Conference, a youth-led convening attended by more than 125 community leaders. Attendees learned about the reasons for disengagement and connected with programs assisting young people to reach their education goals.
• 2022: KYA, The Book Works, and CSYA released recommendations identified by youth for reengaging students with education, a youth-led research project on the reasons for educational disengagement and action steps for school and community leaders.The recommendations included increasing mental health support in schools for students experiencing violence and support for young people who are homeless or need to work to support their families.
• 2022: Developed the Education Re-engagement Network Plan, a collective action plan to link sites in Louisville that support youth and young adults with a path to graduation.
• 2022: Released: Re-Connecting Louisville’s High School Age Learners with a Path to Graduation. This brief outlined a range of individual and system factors that lead many high school age youth to attend irregularly or fade away from school altogether with an analysis of the number of young people in the “disengagement pipeline.”
• 2023: Released the Summary of Common Challenges for High School Learners in Louisville highlighting the common issues impacting high school graduation, as identified by people and organizations serving youth who are not on course to graduate (release pending).