NEW study: Michigan high school graduation
percentage rate Increased slightly from 2002 to 2009; NATIONALLY, Dropouts
Remain TOO High
AT&T’s ‘Socially
INNOVATIVE’ Approach
Aims to increase high school
graduates, boost Workplace readiness
Lansing,
MI, March 20, 2012 — As access to skilled workers becomes
increasingly vital to the U.S. and Michigan economy, AT&T is launching a quarter-billion-dollar
national campaign to help more students graduate from high school ready for
careers and college, and to ensure the country is better prepared to meet
global competition.
AT&T Aspire was announced locally today at the Cristo
Rey Community Center in Lansing by AT&T Michigan President Jim Murray, the
chairs of the State Senate and State House Education Committees Senator Phil
Pavlov (R-St. Clair Twp.) and Representative Lisa Posthumus Lyons (R-Alto) and
Michael MacLaren, Executive Director of the Michigan Press Association.
Educational institutions and programs throughout Michigan
are now able to apply for access to this funding.
According to a March 19, 2012 report by Civic
Enterprises, the Everyone Graduates Center, America’s Promise Alliance and the
Alliance for Excellent Education, Michigan has seen just a 2.4 percentage increase
in 2009 graduation rates, compared with data from 2002.
AT&T Aspire, already among the most significant U.S.
corporate educational initiatives with more than $100 million invested
nationally since 2008, will tackle high school success and college/career readiness
for students at-risk of dropping out of high school through a much larger, “socially
innovative” approach. Social innovation goes beyond traditional philanthropy –
which typically involves only charitable giving – to also engage people and
technology to bring different approaches, new solutions and added resources to challenging
social problems. The Aspire effort
already has impacted more than one million U.S. high school students, helping
them prepare for success in the workplace and college.
The greatly expanded effort centers on a new, $250
million financial commitment planned over 5 years. AT&T Aspire will build on that commitment
by using technology to connect with students in new and more effective ways,
such as with interactive gamification, Web-based content and social media. The
company will also tap the innovation engine of the AT&T Foundry to look for
fresh or atypical approaches to educational obstacles. Finally, AT&T Aspire will capitalize on
the power of personal connections in the form of mentoring, internships and other
voluntary efforts that involve many of AT&T’s approximately 260,000 employees.
o Between now and April 18, 2012,
AT&T is also encouraging Michigan organizations to submit applications to
pre-qualify for funding through the Local High School Impact Initiative
Requests for Proposals (RFPs).
AT&T is most interested in funding local programs that have strong,
evidence-based practices grounded in the What Works Clearinghouse Dropout Prevention:
A Practice Guide and
data-driven outcomes demonstrated to improve high school graduation rates. More
information on the RFP process is available at www.att.com/education-news (click
on the “Aspire Local Impact RFP” option.
“AT&T Aspire works toward an America where every
student graduates high school equipped with the knowledge and skills to
strengthen the nation’s workforce,” AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall
Stephenson said while announcing the extended commitment during a keynote
address at the second annual Building a Grad Nation Summit. The Washington,
D.C., event convened by America’s Promise Alliance (http://www.americaspromise.org/), Civic Enterprises (http://www.civicenterprises.net/home.html), The Everyone Graduates Center at
Johns Hopkins University (www.every1graduates.org/), and the Alliance for Excellent
Education (http://www.all4ed.org/) brings together nearly 1,200 U.S.
leaders to discuss progress and challenges in ending the high school dropout
crisis.
“There
are few responsibilities more important than providing our children with the best
possible education,” said State Senator Pavlov.
“We look forward to AT&T Aspire’s fantastic partnership with local
organizations here in Michigan and the new doors to learning it will open up
for students in our state.”
State
Representative Lyons added: “Succeeding in the 21st century economy
means equipping students with the skills job makers are demanding. AT&T’s commitment and investment in the
Aspire program will help empower kids across Michigan to complete their high
school education and excite them about tomorrow’s opportunities.”
Lacking a high school degree is a serious issue in the
United States, where one in four students – more than 1 million each year –
drops out, according to a March 19, 2012, report by Civic Enterprises, the
Everyone Graduates Center, America’s Promise Alliance and the Alliance for
Excellent Education. AT&T is the lead sponsor of this report. Education
experts believe that the lack of a high school degree significantly worsens job
prospects in a rapidly changing, increasingly sophisticated job market.
And, if dropouts find jobs, they earn less. On average, a
high school dropout earns 25 percent less during the course of his or her
lifetime compared with a high school graduate and 57 percent less than a
college graduate with a bachelor’s degree.[1]
The situation poses a serious risk to American
competitiveness as corporations struggle to find talent, especially in the math
and sciences fields. The dropout rate, along with inadequate training and
education, is keeping many high-paying Science, Technology, Engineering and
Math (STEM) jobs from being filled. And the situation is expected to worsen as
STEM jobs grow a projected 17 percent by 2018. Workers in these positions
typically earn 26 percent more than those in non-STEM positions.[2]
“Last
year, we were proud to work with AT&T to put free newspapers into the hands
of thousands of Michigan students through the News In Education program. Each newspaper featured a great story about a
student who stayed in school and worked hard to graduate,” said Mike MacLaren,
Executive Director of the Michigan Press Association. “Opportunities like these to engage our young
people, emphasize graduation and to prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow don’t
come along every day.”
Although the problem is serious, there are signs of
progress according to the report issued today:
·
The
high school graduation rate increased by
3.5 percentage points nationally from 2001 to 2009.
·
In
2001, the rate was 72.0 percent; by 2009, it had risen to 75.5 percent. From 2002 to 2009, six states experienced large gains in their graduation rates; 14 states made moderate gains; and four
states made modest gains (Note: 2002 was the first year that state
data became available.)
·
And
the number of “dropout factory” high
schools (a high school where 12th-grade enrollment is 60 percent or less than
the 9th-grade enrollment three years previously) dropped from 2,007 to 1,550
from 2002 to 2010 – a 23 percent
decrease.
The new and expanded AT&T commitment builds on the
work AT&T Aspire has completed in the last four years. AT&T and the
AT&T Foundation have invested more than $100 million in Aspire since 2008. The Michigan Aspire investment has amounted
to nearly $2 million since 2008. A few of the organizations that have benefited
include the Grand Rapids Community College Foundation, Focus: HOPE, Zeeland
Public Schools, Detroit Urban League and Saginaw School District.
AT&T Aspire
will build on that success by focusing on:
·
Technology
o Collaborating with innovators,
educators and other companies at the AT&T Foundry (www.att.com/foundry) to
blaze new ground in developing solutions to improve education. For example, the
company will sponsor challenges or contests for mobile application developers
to create cutting-edge solutions to complex problems in our educational system.
A June “hackathon” in Palo Alto, Calif., is the first scheduled
education/technology development event.
o Expanding strategic alliances with organizations
that specialize in developing and marketing new interactive learning tools which
better engage today’s students.
§ Incorporating gamification, the
Internet, video and social media into educational programs.
§ Enabling students in underserved communities
to explore careers before graduation through internships in areas related to 21st-century
skills.
§ Collaborating on a new initiative with
GameDesk (http://www.gamedesk.org/), pioneers in game-based and digital
learning, combining entertainment with high-quality educational content aimed
at equalizing education for all students.
·
People
o Because AT&T employees have asked
for more opportunities to engage with students and contribute to their success,
AT&T will launch the Aspire Mentoring Academy later this year. The academy
will enable employees to help students at risk of dropping out of school succeed
in the classroom and in life.
§ Building on the success of AT&T’s
first Job Shadow initiative (http://www.att.com/gen/corporate-citizenship?pid=11547) with Junior Achievement (http://www.ja.org/), the next evolution for Job Shadow will create a program
in which employee-student teams learn work/life skills, explore real business
problems and form lasting relationships. The initial Job Shadow initiative already has involved 100,000
U.S. students, including nearly 3,000 in Michigan.
§ AT&T employees will provide skills-based
mentoring, which pairs them with students based on shared interests to encourage
and support career path development.
o Inspiring more AT&T customers,
companies and stakeholders to step up to the challenge of addressing the
education crisis.
·
Communities
o Deepening the financial commitment to local
education-focused groups that deliver results.
§ Especially groups that embrace social
innovation, focus on 21st-century skills, or focus on STEM disciplines
for students in underserved communities.
o Making local contributions to
community organizations that specialize in helping students and improving the
quality of education.
“It
will take all of us working together and supporting the hard work of the
education community to continue to improve graduation rates and preparedness
for careers and college throughout Michigan,” Jim Murray said. “Michigan
business has an huge stake in the success of our students. It’s time to commit
more innovation and resources to the task.”
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