When Dorian Teal wanted to turn his life around, the high-school dropout decided he didn't just want to be great, he wanted to be educated.
The now-20-year-old student, who dropped out of Edmondson-Westside High School two years ago, is among the more than 2,000 students who have made their way back to the Baltimore school system in the past three years to take advantage of the Great Kids Come Back campaign, an effort launched by the school system in 2008 to lower the city's dropout rate.
The first 2011 campaign is under way, and the school system will hold two resource fairs this month for students to explore their options. For three years, the school system has coordinated its outreach to students like Teal who have a rekindled desire to give school, and themselves, a second chance.
"I saw a lot of people around me working, taking care of their family, and I wanted to be one of those people," said Teal, who enrolled in the Youth Opportunity Academy, an alternative high school that partners with city schools to allow dropouts to obtain their high school diplomas and GEDs.
The vast majority of students who return under the Great Kids Come Back campaigns enroll in alternative schools or programs, according to city school data, usually because they are older and don't have enough credits. In the current school year, about 460 students have been referred to alternative schools and programs.
But Teal's story proves that the Great Kids campaign is no longer just a rallying cry but has improved the number of students leaving city schools, which is now at a record low.
"What we found three years ago was that the culture of the district wasn't welcoming to students with issues," said Jonathan Brice, executive director for student support and safety. "The culture has changed, so more kids and parents are coming back to the right fit."
The campaign is still marked by ramped-up efforts such as central staff members knocking on doors of dropouts and aggressive school-based initiatives across the city. But Brice said the mentality behind the Great Kids campaign is pervading the school system on a daily basis.
Teal returned to school in September once he learned that the school system had programs that would allow him to obtain his high school diploma. He gathered his own paperwork, stood in line to have it processed and waited for the phone call from city school headquarters indicating that he could enroll in a program that fit his needs.
Now, Teal is the treasurer of the school's student council and is on track to graduate in June. He also has a daughter for whom he believes he can provide a life.
"The [campaign] is a good idea," he said, adding that he promotes the alternative diploma programs to his friends who have dropped out. "It's still good for people to go out and literally pull people out from the streets to improve our lives, our communities."
The 2011 Great Kids resource fairs will take place at city school headquarters, 200 E. North Ave., from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 14 and from 9 a.m.-noon Jan. 15.