The Education Leading to Employment and Career Training (ELECT) Program is proud to celebrate 25 exceptional years of service this school year.  ELECT is a statewide initiative, created through a partnership between Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Human Services.  In 1990, these two state agencies envisioned a school-based intervention that would address the needs of pregnant and parenting students to help them earn a high school diploma.

In the early 1990s, team of individuals from the School District of Philadelphia and a local agency, Communities In Schools (CIS), worked to bring the ELECT program to Philadelphia.  In 1993, the first ELECT funding was awarded here and program sites opened to serve pregnant and parenting teen mothers in Simon Gratz, Ben Franklin and William Penn High Schools.  Over the years, ELECT state leadership expanded eligibility to include more students, including young fathers.  Cheryl Phillips, Associate Director at CIS, has been with the program for more than two decades and shared that eligibility expansions has made a huge impact with ELECT over the years.  Including teen fathers and increasing the income limits has allowed for ELECT to serve thousands of additional students over the years.

From a program that grew from three neighborhood schools in 1993 to a multi-site initiative serving more than 120 educational programs across Philadelphia, we are proud to reflect on the growth and progress that led us to our 25th year.  We now serve more than 1000 young parents each year, carrying out our mission to help young parents achieve their highest potential, both personally and academically, in addition to becoming successful parents and citizens, by providing the support they need to stay in school through graduation.

“Knowing that we could make a difference in young parents’ lives was the key to the ELECT program. Looking back over ELECT’s work  for the past 25 years; knowing that thousands of young parents have graduated and gone on to become outstanding parents and citizens; only reinforces the commitment of staff, the dedication of partners and the quality of the program.” 

— Treena Reid, Senior Director, Communities In Schools, Member of the 1993 team that brought ELECT to Philadelphia

ELECT is operated by the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Family and Community Engagement, in partnership with five local community based providers.

• Communities In Schools of Philadelphia
• Congreso de Latinos Unidos
• EducationWorks
• Jewish, Family and Children’s Service
• Turning Points for Children

For more information about ELECT, please contact ELECTinfo@philasd.org or 215-400-4250