Joshua Group - Harrisburg

Allison Hill neighborhood, Harrisburg:

Highest incidence of violent crimes and drug activity for the city of Harrisburg.
Over 39% of families with children under the age of 18 live below the poverty line, most headed by a single mom.
Almost 50% of adults are unemployed.
Harrisburg city high school graduation rate of 75%; a 14% dropout rate among youth living on Allison Hill.
Most Allison Hill children perform 2 grade levels behind their peers across the state.
More than 55 % of the city high school students scored below Basic Reading Proficiency.
Greater than 70 % of the city high school students score below Basic Math Proficiency.

Every week over 80 under-served city youth participate in our Monday through Thursday J Crew After-School intensive tutoring and mentoring programs. The students attend SciTech High, John Harris High, Rowland Middle, Lincoln School, Bishop McDevitt High, Holy Family, and Cathedral School.
Each school day over 30 students receive Joshua Group In-school tutoring/ mentoring support as part of their regular school day.
Promotion to the next grade was achieved by 96% of middle and high school students who attended the J Crew program at the end of the 2009-2010 year.
Improved academic performance (C average or better) was achieved by 72% of the middle and high school students in the program.
A 95% attendance record was achieved by 82% of the students in the J Crew program, and 85% of the students met behavioral targets, in and out of school.
Of the 12 former dropouts who worked towards a GED in the past year, 75% earned their GED and the remaining are on track to earn their GED.
Nine students were aided in their pursuit of post-secondary education at HACC and Thaddeus Stevens College.
Employment for 13 youth was obtained through Resource Center assistance. Summer Employment was provided for 6 youth at the Joshua Farm and 2 youth at Rite Aid.
Residential Housing was provided for 5 young men this past year.