Philadelphia Inquirer | 06/13/2005 | Hope for Phila. in college dropouts:

“These are people who might have 20 or 40 years left in their careers, who have already demonstrated some interest in college,” said David B. Thornburgh, executive director of the Pennsylvania Economy League. “You can make a substantial difference in someone’s life and in the economic vitality of the city if you can get that 25-year-old back to school.”

Getting working adults, many with family obligations, to reenroll is no easy feat, which Thornburgh and others who worked on the report concede.

But compared with other workforce-enhancement alternatives – such as massive improvement in Philadelphia’s K-12 education or stanching the “brain drain” of college graduates – reaching out to comebackers could prove a relatively quick fix, said Sallie A. Glickman, executive director of the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board.

The tentative goal, Glickman said, is to coax 12,000 dropouts back to school by 2010, which would fill a projected gap in Philadelphia’s demand for college-educated workers.

“We want people to just zero in on that ranking: 92d out of 100,” Thornburgh said. “I mean, this is all hands on deck. We’re just not going to build a new economy with that kind of a labor force.”

An initiative called Graduate! Philadelphia, led by the report’s author, Hadass Sheffer, seeks to raise the alarm.

Sheffer’s plans include a “reengagement center,” where returning students can receive counseling and help in navigating red tape, and a “cohort” approach, where comebackers take courses together to provide positive peer pressure.

The report calls on schools and employers to do more as well. Comebackers need flexible schedules on the job and night and weekend courses from schools. Tuition and fee breaks, help with child care, and paid time off for classes were also recommended.