The Atlanta Lawyer November 2016 | Page 23

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. 1 2 The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association THE ATLANTA LAWYER 23