Communities in Schools takes aim at New Orleans' dropout rate

Sarah T. Reed High School student Jynico Harris has a long way to go before graduation, but he's already preparing for college with the help of a program designed to help him succeed.

The 14-year-old incoming sophomore was idling away his summer before becoming involved in a summer leadership camp put on by Communities In Schools, a nationwide nonprofit aiming to keep students in school by connecting community resources to the classroom.

Now Harris has toured several college campuses, learned valuable leadership skills and has begun down a path that will one day lead to a college education.

Only 64.8 percent of Louisiana's high school students graduated during the 2006-07 school year, compared with nearly 75 percent nationwide, CIS New Orleans executive director Sarah Massey said.

CIS has been fighting to stem the tide of dropouts in New Orleans for the past 12 years, but the lingering effects of Hurricane Katrina helped reinvigorate and expand the program, Massey said.