Program Preps Students for Careers, College

ATLANTA - In May, then-goveor Sonny Perdue signed into law the BRIDGE Act. It makes career counseling mandatory for all middle and high school students.

The goal is to reduce Georgia's dropout rate and make sure students are career and college-ready.

BRIDGE stands for Building Resourceful Individuals to Develop Georgia's Economy. And that's the goal - to point kids in the right direction, to a path that leads not only to prosperity but personal sense of fulfillment. And one Georgia school has taken that mission and run with it.

Leslie Garcia, an eighth grader at Crabapple Middle School is the first to admit her grades weren't always the best.

"I really wanted to do well. I just didn't know how. I would do it and I would try but it just wouldn't happen. I would get the goal I was reaching for," said student Leslie Garcia.

And according to the state education department, she's like many at-risk students across the state: students who would otherwise dropout of high school instead of walking across the stage with their peers.

Ricardo Pinedo says he didn't always see a future for himself.

"I was shy, never expressed myself in anyway," said student Ricardo Pinedo.

But both Ricardo and Leslie say their outlook on school and life has dramatically changed, thanks to a new program, called My Graduation Plan. Crabapple is one of the first middle schools to implement the individualized education plan led by students. It starts with a detailed assessment of each child - asking them about their interests and abilities. But it doesn't stop there. Graduation coaches then are brought in twice a week to work with the students one on one.

"So then when we go in as teachers we can see what direction they're going and then we can kind of adapt activities and start pushing them towards things they've expressed interest in," said My Graduation Plan teacher Courtney Beach.

The goal is to tailor their leaing experience around what they'd actually be good at and enjoy. The students are shown inspirational videos and given assignments that encourage them to envision the future.

Ricardo now wants to be a police officer - Leslie, a lawyer.

While the My Graduation Plan has improved the grades of many of the students included in the program, both the teacher and students say what they gained inteally can't be measured on anytest.

"We're starting to see a little bit more ownership and a little bit more enthusiasm, whereas before it was avoid eye contact kind of thing," said Beach.

"This program has taught me that anything is possible. So if I just try I know I can do it. And I'm going to be a successful person and lawyer hopefully someday," said Garcia.

Once blind to what lies ahead, Ricardo says he now seeing with perfect vision and he says the future looks bright.

"Graduating high school, going to college and just making my family proud," said Pinedo.

Eventually, the law requires all middle and high school students to receive career guidance and create an individual graduation plan.