City’s TEMPO Program Reaches New Milestone

A record-setting 100 participants will receive GEDs

June 18, 2025

The City of Tallahassee's nationally recognized youth program, Tallahassee Engaged in Meaningful Productivity for Opportunity (TEMPO), will graduate nearly 160 formerly at-risk students tomorrow, June 19, at the Old West Enrichment Center. They comprise the eighth program cohort.

Among the graduates are 100 General Education Diploma (GED) recipients. This is the largest number of GED recipients since the program began in 2017 with 12 students.

In addition, more than 50 students will receive technical certificates from Lively Technical College, Tallahassee State College and Florida Health Science Consulting. They will pursue such careers as electrician, welder, aviation mechanic, patient care technician and administrative specialist.

"The TEMPO program continues to yield phenomenal results," Mayor John Dailey said. "Through its proactive outreach to connect at-risk youth with educational and vocational opportunities, it changes lives for the better and shifts generational outcomes."

This year, there are five stop-gap initiative graduates. This innovative expansion of TEMPO allows family members of youth participants to get their GED, too, helping lift households out of generational poverty.

Administered by the City's Department of Housing & Community Resilience, TEMPO is a public safety outreach effort that identifies, engages and reconnects disconnected or at-risk youth, 16-24 years old, who are neither employed nor in school, to educational and employment opportunities. The program offers guidance and a pathway toward a positive, prosperous future. TEMPO has been described by some past participants as "a lifeline."

"The City's TEMPO program continues to be a game changer," HCR director Dr. Kimball Thomas said. "More than 3,600 disconnected youth and their respective families have engaged in TEMPO thus far. The success of this program lies in its holistic approach and the dedicated support of City leadership."

The public is invited to attend the TEMPO graduation ceremony. It will be held tomorrow, Thursday, June 19, from 6-8 p.m. at the Old West Enrichment Center, 2344 Lake Bradford Road.

For more information about the City's TEMPO program and how it offers viable alternatives by providing paths to economic opportunity for area youth, visit Talgov.com/TEMPO or call 850-891-8722.