The Book Works helps high school age young people (14 to 21 years old) in Louisville get on track to graduation and a career path. More specifically, they help young people get back on track if something has derailed their academic progress. The organization was founded in 2008.
Most of the young people working or volunteering at the Book Works are out of school and work because their education has been disrupted by childhood trauma, family poverty, or system involvement. Sixty-four percent live in high poverty areas or are homeless. Forty-six percent have special education or mental health needs. And only 29 percent have graduated from high school. For the Book Works, what makes these young people remarkable is their resilience and their total commitment to making their lives about more than their current challenges.
Executive Director Elizabeth Senn-Alvey says "the programs that we implement have changed as young people have changed over the last 15 years. Certainly the pandemic has accelerated some of the work that we've done in some ways. But the mission is to make sure young people — and all young people have an equal shot."
The organization maintains a vigilant awareness that young people who are new arrivals to their community, who are system involved, or who have experienced economic disadvantage are less likely to be prepared to become independent adults. "I think in Louisville, we haven't done a particularly good job at focusing on them and identifying the ways in which we make their lives a little more difficult," Senn-Alvey says. "We ask them to be responsible for themselves. But how how can we be better at a system level making sure we're not making it more difficult for them — or nearly impossible?" That question is the heart of what the Book Works does.
Senn-Alvey says work around educational advocacy and supporting young people who are not on course to graduate intensified during and since the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to pre-existing socio-economic factors, the populations the Book Works serves also struggle as a result of the pandemic. "They missed out on core content. Their reading scores are a little bit lower, or they are just not making progress. They're proceeding through school, but they're not getting the credits they need to graduate. So we want to make sure that they have access to all the support they need."
Much of what the Book Works brings to its community is self-advocacy. Sometimes the work involves making sure young people understand what their rights are as learners and helping them access educational tools. Other times, it involves working with the systems that are impacting young people’s lives to ensure that they prioritize their education.
Cloud-Based Software Helps Serve The Community
The Book Works is able to serve the community with tools developed by Casebook PBC. The New York-based human services software developer helps non-profit organizations and government agencies reduce their operational costs and improve their outcomes. Casebook's cloud-based software-as-a-service solution centralizes tracking, communication, and reporting, which reduces operational costs, facilitates internal collaboration, and helps the helpers accelerate an end to poverty."Human services agencies are tasked with helping some of the most vulnerable of our population, and Casebook's goal is to support them in providing necessary services to their clients faster and more efficiently, leading to more positive experiences and outcomes," says President and CEO Tristan Louis. "The significant reduction in time spent on administrative tasks means less burnout and a greater ability to serve those in need."
Casebook allows the Book Works to accurately provide data for funding applications that support their work in Louisville. "Casebook has been instrumental in our organizational operations as we expanded our capacity to serve four times as many students who are not on track to graduate," says Senn-Alvey. The platform allows the Book Works to keep track of all the different needs that our young people have, all the partners that we're connecting them with, and being able to make sure that each young person is being seen as an individual and served as an individual."
Getting On Track From Multiple Locations
The Book Works office is located in the Beechmont Community Center. "We have a great partnership with Louisville Metro government that gives us an opportunity to do after school programs," Senn-Alvey says. Traditionally, if a student came to a community center during class hours on a school day, the staff would turn them away and encourage them to go back to school. The Book Works is moving the community center in a new direction. "We'll say, 'let's figure out what's going on. Why aren't you in school? Tell us more about the situation.'" If the student has been suspended, they will be welcomed at one of several engagement sites around Louisville.The Book Works recently completed a pilot program that ran on school days from spring break to the end of the school year. It was situated in Neighborhood House in the Portland neighborhood. "The key to our model is partnering with community organizations that are well rooted in the neighborhood, who have a deep connection to the folks they serve."
The next spot will be in the South Louisville, in the vicinity of the Iroquois neighborhood. The current plan is to open in time for the new school year. The Book Works is also looking for other locations, likely in the Newburg area. "Those are the daytime service locations, but our education advocates work with people everywhere, so they don't have to come to that space. They don't have to be out of school to be off course to graduate. We can serve them anywhere."
