Independent Study Shows Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection Provides Significant Benefits for Students

SYRACUSE, NY (05/19/2016)(readMedia)-- The 232 Syracuse students being honored at tonight's Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection Program (HW-SC) Senior Celebration held at Landmark Theatre at 5 PM will experience all the benefits of a high school diploma – increased job opportunities, higher lifetime earnings, and longer lives. According to a Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester analysis, those benefits far outweigh the costs of providing HW-SC; for every dollar invested in the program, there is a return of $7.52 for students who remained in the program through their on-time graduation. On-time graduation was determined to be the most critical program outcome, and the primary benefit-cost ratio influencer.

"For almost three decades we have understood that HW-SC positively affects students, their families and the overall community," said Dennis Richardson, President and CEO for Hillside Family of Agencies. "The University of Rochester's data analysis now clearly demonstrates the program's role in delivering extremely high value to this community, helping students graduate on time and advance towards other goals of college, career and overall community betterment."

Led by Karen J. DeAngelis, PhD, the study sought to determine if the benefits achieved by HW-SC for both students and the overall community outweighed the costs associated with the program. HW-SC students from the class of 2014 were compared to overall district results in Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo, where the program is offered in 39 schools. Benefits considered in the study included those both for the individual (e.g., attainment of higher education, increased lifetime earnings, lower need for social services) and for the community (e.g., improved participation in the workforce and increased tax revenue, cost savings within public assistance programs and the criminal justice system). While only benefits that could be specifically quantified were measured for this study, there is significant evidence that health, parenting skills and civic involvement show marked improvement as high school graduation rates increase.

"While the benefit-cost ratio for retained students was striking at 7.52, that ratio climbed even further as we examined the data by students' engagement and demographics," said DeAngelis. "Students who participated in the program's employment component had a ratio of 8.52 and the benefits for African American male students, a group with the lowest graduation rates historically in the communities studied, had a ratio of 10.29 for those most engaged in HW-SC."

Graduating on-time from high school is increasingly being understood as the pivotal indicator of future success. Parents across the state clearly understand and value the importance of graduation, citing better jobs and gaining independence as the top reasons they want their kids to graduate high school in a recent poll conducted by Hillside Family of Agencies.

For best friends Marissa Bockeno and Nastasia Torrence, two of the students being recognized at today's HW-SC Senior Celebration, their upcoming graduation will open doors to a world of possibilities.

"Hillside saves lives," said Bockeno, of Henninger High School in Syracuse. "They take students who might go down the wrong path and help them get the right mindset; the advocates are great and big part of the children and families' lives."

Torrence added, "Hillside is always there for you. They never gave up on me and that's why I'm successful today."

Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection is an evidence-informed youth empowerment program helping students overcome the barriers that cause them to drop out and potentially abandon their education. Founded in 1988, HW-SC includes academic and social mentoring and employment with designated community employers. The latest HW-SC Outcomes Report shows that 98% of Syracuse HW-SC students who remain in the program graduate from high school on time, a figure that is 95% for students employed with job partners. 66% of all students who graduate from HW-SC go on to post-secondary education. HW-SC is located in 43 schools serving over 4,000 youth at risk of failing to graduate from high school here and in Rochester and Buffalo, NY, and in Prince George's County, MD.

The full University of Rochester Benefit-Cost analysis, HW-SC's 2015 Outcomes Report and more information on the program is available at:

https://www.hillside.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/HWSC-Cost-Benefit-Analysis-Final-Report-12-11-15.pdf

About Hillside Family of Agencies

Hillside Family of Agencies provides comprehensive health, education, and human services for children and families whose challenges threaten their ability to realize their full potential. For over 178 years, Hillside has partnered with communities across New York and Maryland to offer more than 100 coordinated programs that provide comprehensive, cradle-to-career services for thousands of families in residential treatment, schools, homes, the workplace, and the community.

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