Back to school with Come Back Kids

As many as one in four students who start high school statewide will not finish that journey. Dropouts are much more likely to earn less throughout their lifetimes and can get caught up in a vicious cycle of poverty and crime.

“Come Back Kids” is a new Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) program being piloted at the new Mt. San Jacinto Regional Learning Center in San Jacinto. Educators seek out students who have fallen through the cracks and offer them a chance to make up credits, find classes that they need, and get special training, often in collaboration with Mt. San Jacinto Community College.

“It’s amazing how many students are just 20 credits short of graduating, and never go back,” said Debra Sacks, Principal. “We can help them reach that goal.”

As many as 250 students are expected to be enrolled in the program at San Jacinto, Val Verde Regional Learning Center in Moreno Valley, Arlington Regional Learning Center in Riverside, and Milo P. Johnson Regional Learning Center in Banning.

Mt. San Jacinto Community College is enhancing the Come Back Kids program by offering Adult Basic Education, English as a Second Language courses and concurrent college credit where appropriate.

The key to the program is that educators deal with students one on one, asking, What are your goals? What are you interested in? How can we help you secure your high school diploma or GED?

They are reaching out to dropouts through newspaper ads, fliers at local schools, and seeking referrals from police and court authorities. All it takes to get back to school is one phone call to 951-826-4250, or email cbk@rcoe.us, said Sacks.

“We get teenagers who walk in and say, ‘My friend was here and told me this works,’” said Sacks. “It turns out that word of mouth is often the best advertising there is.”