Operation: Back to School

Operation Back to School (OBTS) is a signature project of JLSS. In collaboration with Schenectady County Community College, our League provides over 400 students participating in Smart Scholars Early College High School Program with their teacher’s requested school supplies.

This program engages Schenectady City High School students starting in 9^th grade who have been identified as belonging to a population that has historically not had access to or success in higher education, with the goal of allowing each student to graduate high school with a Regents Diploma and the opportunity to successfully transition into college with at least 20 credit hours.

Our League’s goal is to facilitate the provision of all the educational supplies, such as calculators, planners, notebooks, and backpacks, which the students will need of this program. This allows these students to complete the four year program at no additional cost to the student or their family. JLSS solicits donations and other community support in order to meet this goal. Our League members also volunteer to do all of the shopping and organize all of the items to be presented to each student at the beginning of the school year. The 2019-2020 league year is the 10th year of this project.

The goals of this program are to:

To increase high school graduation rates;
To increase the number of student who complete postsecondary credential/degree;
To address needs of students from populations traditionally underrepresented in college.
To help close our nation’s student achievement gap