Jackson, MS—Local elected officials, business and community leaders and some of the most prominent child advocacy organization in the city are gathering March 3, 2009, to set an acti on plan for increasing the area’s high school graduation rate in order to ensure that Jackson’s young people are bett er prepared for college, work and life.
The summit will be held at the JSU e-Center on Tuesday, March 3, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. unti l 3:00 p.m. State Farm Insurance Company will start the event with the presentati on of a $2,500 check to Provine, Wingfi eld and Lanier High Schools, which are the focus schools of this year’s summit.
A report commissioned by America’s Promise Alliance, the nati on’s largest alliance of organizati ons working on behalf of children and youth, found that only about half of all students served the main school systems in the nati on’s 50 largest cities graduate from high school. In the Jackson Public School system, approximately 1 in 6 (16 percent) of teens do not graduate with their class. Nati onwide, nearly one out of every three public high school students drop out before graduation. That’s 1.2 million each year, one every 26 seconds or nearly 7,000 each school day.
“Far too many young people in Jackson, MS and across the nati on are dropping out of school leaving their future and that of our community at risk, said Dr. Lonnie J. Edwards, Sr., superintendent of Jackson Public Schools.
“We need to come together as a community like never before to provide the necessary supports to help our youth graduate from high school, so they are prepared for college, vocati onal training or post secondary training, and have the skills necessary to succeed in life.”
Experts agree that the well-being and prosperity of Jackson and the nation is dependent upon an educated workforce.
By 2010, two-thirds of all jobs will require post-secondary instruction. Yet today, millions enter the workforce lacking even basic skills for success. Young people who drop out are more likely to be incarcerated, rely on public programs and social services and go without health insurance than those who graduate from high school. Experts esti mate that dropouts from the Class of 2007-07 will cost the U.S. more than $329 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their
lifetimes.
Jackson Public Schools, the MS Department of Educati on, MS Economic Council, State Farm Insurance, United Way, and government, business and community leaders will take part in Desti nati on Graduati on Dropout Prevention and Action Planning Summit. In additi on to providing an overview of the local dropout situation, summit attendees will review what local resources are currently in place to help teenagers at risk from dropping out.
The gathering will culminate with the producti on of a formal acti on plan on how to increase the graduati on rate at Provine, Wingfield, and Lanier High Schools, with concrete steps for putti ng this plan in place.
“The key to increasing graduati on at the city, state and nati onal level is to stop working in isolati on and to start working together, said Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO, America’s Promise Alliance.
“That’s why we are convening these summits. We need curriculum reform, aft er-school programs, eff orts to improve health care and nutrition programs, increased resources and greater accountability. Most of all, we need to recognize that no one local or national entity can solve this crisis alone, but working together, we can make enormous strides to ensure our children succeed.”
Research shows that the more support youth have, both inside and outside of the classroom, the more likely they are to stay in school. Specifically, research demonstrates that the more young people experience five essential wrap-around supports, what the Alliance calls the “Five Promises: —caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education and opportunities to help others — the greater their chance for future success.
The summit is part of America’s Promise Alliance’s Dropout Preventi on Campaign, a national effort to reduce high school dropout rates and prepare children for college, work and life. The campaign includes a series of ground-breaking, high-level Dropout Prevention Summits that will be held in every state and 50 communiti es over the next two years.
The lead sponsor for the national campaign is State Farm Insurance Company. They are joined by AT&T, The Boeing Company, Casey Family Programs, Ford Motor Company Fund, ING Foundati on, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundati on.
CONTACT: MANDY SCOTT,
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND
COMM. RELATIONS, UNITED WAY
(601) 965-1354/CELL: (601) 919-5335
United Way mandy@myunitedway.com
of the Capital Area
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