Life Skills Center | Press Kit

FACT SHEET

About White Hat Management
White Hat Management is a leading provider of lifelong learning services. Based in the United States, the company operates a range of educational services, including community-based and distance learning K-12 schools, post-secondary education services, web-based and face-to-face tutoring services, workplace supplemental education services, digital educational production services and home schooling services.

Since its inception in 1998, White Hat has taken a leadership role through its founder, Akron, Ohio industrialist and education activist David Brennan, in positively influencing school choice legislation in Ohio and nationally, as well as in defending existing charter law from formidable union and related party litigation. In the media, we continually support school choice, defend White Hat's employees and academic performance record and inform the public of our commitment and means to serve a disenfranchised population across the United States.

White Hat Management currently employs more than 1,600 people and operates 52 schools, serving more than 18,000 students during the 2004-2005 school year. For more information, visit White Hat Management at www.whitehatmgmt.com.

Life Skills Centers — Tuition-free, serving at-risk and dropout youth ranging in age from16 to 22, depending on state age limitations for public high school students. Life Skills Centers were founded in 1999 with the opening of centers in Akron, Cleveland, and Youngstown. As of September 2005:

There are currently 37 Life Skills Centers, 20 of which are in Ohio: in Akron (3 locations), Canton, Cincinnati (2 locations), Cleveland (4 locations), Columbus (3 locations), Dayton, Elyria, Middletown, Springfield, Toledo, Warren, and Youngstown.
Life Skills Centers also can be found in Phoenix, Ariz.; Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo.; Broward, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Pinellas and Polk counties in Florida; and Detroit and Pontiac, Mich.
According to the Center for Education Reform (CER), Life Skills Centers account for 30 percent of the total number of charter high schools nationwide that target the at-risk and dropout population.
More than 9,200 students are currently enrolled.
Also according to CER, Life Skills Centers educate more than 50 percent of the students currently attending at-risk and dropout-focused charter high schools in America.
All Life Skills Centers are fully accountable for and dedicated to meeting the educational standards established in each individual state for charter public schools.
All White Hat Management schools are committed to meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements and each school has an extensive plan in place to address every aspect of AYP and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) accountability measures.
Life Skills Centers also are committed to meeting federal requirements for serving students with special needs, established by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB), as well as any state and local requisites.
Since inception, more than 6,200 students have graduated with a state-recognized high school diploma and a job.
Students work at their own levels and paces; students may attend any one of up to four, 4-hour sessions per day morning, mid-day, afternoon, and an evening program in selected locations.
Life Skills Centers offer the most successful at-risk and dropout education program in America. To date, no other such program has reported the equivalent number of graduates.
Life Skills Centers currently serve metropolitan communities with populations generally beginning at 50,000 residents with the majority of attending students coming from within a 5-mile radius of the center.
Graduations occur every June and December.
Life Skills Centers are now on pace to average 2,000 graduates per year.
A full-time, licensed Family Advocate is provided in every school that forms key relationships with students, family, staff and the community to reduce barriers to student’s success and provide a nurturing and supportive environment. Family Advocates make hundreds of contacts with students and families in need by coordinating individual, group, and community services.
Black and Latino students comprise approximately 65% of the Life Skills Centers student population, compared to a national average of 32% in the same grade levels.
Every teacher is issued a computer.
The computer to student ratio is 1:1.
Every fully enrolled Life Skills Center classroom features full-time teachers and full-time assistants for more one-on-one instruction.
Life Skills Centers feature specially designed curriculum developed to meet the needs of the communities we serve and fully aligned with state standards.
Students have the same graduation requirements as traditional public school students, including taking the same number of credits and passing the same required state tests. In addition, students must maintain employment for 90 consecutive days prior to graduation.
Each Life Skills Center offers full-time Vocational Specialists and a Family Advocate, providing a full complement of counseling and community-based referrals.
The majority of Life Skills students enroll through personal referrals from current students, parents, grandparents, and other family members, community and religious leaders, municipal authorities, and military recruiters, among others.