Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell

“Reinvesting in Youth” as an organization headed by former elected official Jim Street, has mobilized communities for the purpose of addressing our schools’ dropout issue. Its work has been informative and groundbreaking. Educators and administrators alike agree that schools need the support from the larger community in meeting the challenges faced by struggling students.

The 2007 Legislature established the Building Bridges Workgroup under 2SHB 1573. The Workgroup built a set of recommendations in their December 1, 2008, report to the Legislature and focused on important steps on how to address the dropout issue. Their recommendations were heavily influenced by the “systems” approach utilized by Reinvesting in Youth.

Due to unanticipated funding cuts, Reinvesting in Youth held its last meeting in June 2009. However, the systems they implemented and tested will serve as a platform for the fine work of the Building Bridges Workgroup. This will impact how we approach dropout issues for public schools in Seattle, as well as schools across our state. I appreciate the fine work of Jim Street and the Reinvesting in Youth committee for their efforts to keep us focused on the dropout issue in our local schools. Well done.