Voices of Youth in Chicago Education

VOYCE (Voices of Youth in Chicago Education) is a youth organizing collaborative made up of high school students from seven community based organizations. VOYCE was formed to address the problem of high drop out rates and low college enrollment rates of students of color within Chicago Public Schools from the ground up. Over the four year period between 1999-2002, 51.3 % of CPS high school students dropped out resulting in 64,057 youth without high school diplomas while only 48.7% or 60,814 students graduated. VOYCE convenes high school students, parents, teachers, principals, and community members to analyze the causes of high drop out rates, craft solutions which answer real needs, and organize to gain support for policy and school-based reforms from public officials and Chicago Public Schools.