What if there were someone at each high school whose only responsibility was to keep students from dropping out?
That’s the job description of 363 newly minted “graduation coaches” in Georgia, but the description is the only easy part of the work: about a third of the state’s high school students never make it to commencement.
“Figuring out the best way to do this job has been a constant challenge,” says Kim Stewart, a former English teacher and guidance counselor who became North Gwinnett High School’s graduation coach when the program was launched this year. “But I’m allowed the creativity to plan a program and come up with the best ways to help students.”
