In the 35 years since Truancy Intervention Project (TIP) was founded, the effort to keep Georgia’s kids in school has been anything but a straight line.
It’s hard to believe that, less than two decades ago, chronically absent students were being held in regional youth detention centers for truancy — a practice Georgia has since moved away from. But COVID-19 brought a new wave of challenges. The rate of chronic absenteeism in Georgia nearly doubled as economic pressures mounted and social services were stretched thin. Kids and families found themselves navigating a complex web of barriers threatening educational access.
There have also been meaningful steps forward, like the recent passage of SB 123 and Georgia’s new Early Literacy Act. TIP has evolved, too, shifting from a court-based model to a more holistic one focused on student and family engagement.
But since TIP Board Chair Josh Swiger first took on his first truancy case over two decades ago, one thing has not changed: every child needs someone in their corner who believes in them.
“If you want to help your community, I don’t think there’s anything you can do that is more valuable than helping a child get an education,” says Josh.
A partner at Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial, currently serving a second term as Board Chair, Josh is one of many in the Atlanta legal community who have shown up for that mission relentlessly.
His belief in the power of education runs deep. Growing up in a blue-collar family, Josh spent many summers working alongside his father outdoors in the West Virginia heat — his dad’s way of nudging him to chart a different course.
“My parents always emphasized the importance of education as I was growing up,” he says. “I realize now that that is a tremendous gift, because it really is the key to improving your station and being able to manage your own destiny.”
Josh became a first-generation college graduate, majoring in chemical engineering before carving out a successful legal career. After a colleague introduced him to pro bono opportunities at TIP, Josh embraced the chance to put his legal skills to work for a cause close to his heart.
“It’s very rewarding,” he says. “You’re really giving that individual autonomy over their own life and the ability to have self-determination.”
Over the years, Josh has helped hundreds of students find their way back to the classroom, showing up in courtrooms, sitting with families, and making sure every child he represented knew that someone was fighting for them.
He has witnessed firsthand the barriers preventing kids from attending school and reaching their potential. Often, these barriers have little to do with ability or ambition and everything to do with circumstance.
One case has stayed with him for years: a gifted young woman from an under-resourced community, already taking AP classes, whose family struggles threatened to derail everything she had worked for. Josh advocated for her for nearly three years until she found her footing, earned her degree, and became a nurse.
“There’s nothing inherently different about any of these children,” he emphasizes. “These kids are smart and intelligent and want to learn and succeed.”
Advocates like Josh don’t just change one life. More access to education means a stronger workforce, safer communities, and a more vibrant local economy. Each success story sends ripples through entire communities.
“You make a positive impact on that person’s life, and you have no way of knowing how many different lives that’s going to touch,” says Josh.
TIP is fortunate to be backed by a strong coalition of passionate volunteers like Josh — representing students in court, organizing holiday gift drives, leading the Board, and providing a steadfast, positive presence in clients’ lives.
And the momentum keeps building. Community members, schools, organizations, and policymakers are increasingly aligned in the belief that every child deserves an education.
As TIP enters a new era with a growing alliance by our side, there’s every reason to believe Georgia’s best days for education are still ahead.