TRUANCY INTERVENTION PROJECT
A LOOK BACK FROM TIP CO-FOUNDERS,
TERRY WALSH AND JUDGE GLENDA
HATCHETT
In looking back over
the last quarter of a
century, we are often
asked what has surprised us the most
about TIP. The short
answer is that we never
anticipated the impact
that TIP Georgia has
had and that we would be here, 25 years later, with
nearly 10,000 children served.
Upon reflection, there are several key components
that are especially note-worthy. First, the unwavering support from the Atlanta Bar and the entire
legal community, the dedicated Juvenile Court staff,
and ingenious school social workers have played
a significant role in every success and have continued to work in the best interest of every child.
These partnerships have allowed for the wonderfully committed TIP staff to regularly achieve what
would have otherwise been impossible. Finally, we
would not have been able to accomplish any of this
without the bold leadership and guidance of TIP's
fabulous Executive Director, Jessica Pennington,
who is largely responsible for much of TIP's successes over her 20 years with the agency.
Our efforts began with a simple idea: chronic absenteeism is toxic and unacceptable for both the
child and our community. All children deserve to be
educated in order to have an opportunity for happy
and productive lives. To those basic concepts, TIP
has remained true and the outcomes have exceeded
our expectations - an overall success rate of 86%!
There are far too many individual success stories
to mention here - maybe one day we will write a
book! We are proud of how TIP children have succeeded and we look forward with enthusiasm for
even better results in the next 25 years. We are truly
grateful to all of our supporters and volunteers for
helping us get to where we are today. They are truly
the best of what TIP does.
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The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association THE ATLANTA LAWYER
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