High School Graduation Rates Rise in Some Major U.S. Cities, But Significant Work...

High School Graduation Rates Rise in Some Major U.S. Cities, But Significant
Work Remains to Curb Dropout Crisis

Study Looks at Trends Over 10 Years and Economic Landscape for High School
Dropouts

WASHINGTON, April 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A report released today finds
that only about half (53%) of all young people in the nation's 50 largest
cities are graduating from high school on time. Cities in Crisis 2009: Closing
the Graduation Gap, prepared for America's Promise Alliance by the Editorial
Projects in Education Research Center, shows that despite some progress made
by several of these cities between 1995-2005, the average graduation rate of
the 50 largest cities is well below the national average of 71 percent, and
there remains an 18 percentage point urban suburban gap.

"The 10-year graduation rates show that progress is being made in some of
America's largest cities, but significant work remains," said Alma Powell,
chair of America's Promise Alliance, which was founded in 1997 with her
husband, Gen. Colin Powell as its founding chair. "In order to continue to
move forward and make the U.S. competitive in today's global economy, we must
work together like never before to provide the supports that young people need
in order to graduate high school ready for college, work, and life."

Cities that saw the greatest improvement in graduation rates include
Philadelphia, Pa. (23 percentage points); Tucson, Ariz. (23 percentage
points); Kansas City, Mo. (20 percentage points); El Paso, Texas (14 percent
percentage points); Portland, Ore. (13 percentage points); and New York City
(13 percentage points). Other cities with an increase of 10 or more percentage
points in graduation rates were Atlanta, Ga.; Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio;
Dallas, Texas; Fort Worth, Texas; Mesa, Ariz.; and Miami, Fla. Still, 19 of
the country's 50 largest cities have seen the graduation rate at their
principal school district decline within the last decade. Those with the
greatest decrease in graduation rates include Las Vegas, Nev. (-23 percentage
points); Wichita, Kan. (-18 percentage points); Omaha, Neb. (-15 percentage
points); Arlington, Texas (-12 percentage points); Albuquerque, N.M. (-7
percentage points); and San Francisco, Calif. (-7 percentage points).

Nationwide, nearly one in three U.S. high school students fails to graduate
with a diploma. In total, approximately 1.2 million students drop out each
year - averaging 7,000 every school day or one every 26 seconds. Among
minority students, the problem is even more severe with nearly 50 percent of
African American and Hispanic students not completing high school on time.

"As the president said, every young person who drops out of high school is not
only quitting on himself but is also quitting on his country. Similarly, every
high school dropout represents not only a failure on the part of a school and
an individual, but a larger failure of society to lead our children to success
in education," said Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education.

Cities in Crisis 2009: Closing the Graduation Gap also looked at the economic
and employment landscape for those with varied educational levels, including
those without a high school diploma. It revealed that those who drop out of
high school are less likely to be steadily employed, and earn less income when
they are employed, compared with those who graduate from high school.
Approximately one-third (37 percent) of high school dropouts nationwide are
steadily employed, and are more than twice as likely to live in poverty.

The report revealed that high school dropouts account for 13 percent of the
adult population, but earn less than six percent of all dollars earned in the
U.S. In the 50 largest cities, the median income for high school dropouts is
$14,000 - significantly lower than the median income of $24,000 for high
school graduates and $48,000 for college graduates. Nationally, high school
dropouts were also the only group of workers who saw income levels decline
over the last 30 years.

"Research is clear about what helps kids stay in school, and as we've all come
to realize with the current economic crisis, investing in education is not
only an essential part of improving graduation rates, but of supporting
meaningful economic recovery. Our government has shown bold leadership in
elevating education, but this means the real work must begin now," said
Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO, America's Promise Alliance. "We must
seize this historic moment and make sure that young people are surrounded by
strong support systems, caring teachers, proper nutrition, a safe place to
learn and be after school, and opportunities to give back to others. Learning
from the example set forth by our summits, we know that by working together we
can make sure our children graduate with the skills they need to succeed."

In an effort to reduce America's high school dropout rates, the Alliance
introduced the Dropout Prevention Campaign in April 2008. To date, 35
high-level summits have been held in cities nationwide - bringing together
more than 14,000 mayors and governors, business owners, child advocates,
school administrators, students, and parents to develop workable solutions and
action plans. An additional 51 are planned to take place before the end of the
year, and all 105 - one in all 50 states and 55 cities with the largest
dropout rates - will be completed by April 2010. The presenting sponsor for
the Dropout Prevention Campaign is the State Farm Insurance Company. Other
major sponsors include AT&T, The Boeing Company, Ford Motor Company Fund, ING
Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The J. Willard and Alice S.
Marriott Foundation, The Wal-Mart Foundation, Simon Foundation for Education,
Chevron, Peter G. Peterson Foundation, Casey Family Programs, The Annie E.
Casey Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Bank of America, The
Annenberg Foundation, and Capital One.

Already, cities and states that held summits last year have started
implementing changes based on the discussions, and early results are
promising. One of the most significant success stories is happening in
Detroit, the first city to host a summit. The city set a 10-year goal to
graduate 80 percent of its youth from the 35 high schools with significant
dropout rates. To support this effort, the local United Way announced the
creation of The Greater Detroit Venture Fund, a $10 million fund to assist
these schools and improve ACT scores so students are better prepared for
college. Since this summit, the city has shuttered, reconstituted, or
clustered together 11 of those 35 schools as part of a comprehensive
turnaround process. Further summit success stories can be found in Louisville,
Ky., which set a 10-year goal to cut dropout rates in half, and Tulsa, Ok.,
where as a result of their summit, an innovative career exploration program
was developed.

Experts say that dropping out of high school affects not just students and
their families, but the country overall - including businesses, government,
and communities. The Alliance for Excellent Education estimates that high
school dropouts from the Class of 2006-07 will cost the U.S. more than $329
billion in lost wages, taxes, and productivity over their lifetimes. Experts
say that those 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.

Other Report Findings:
Other findings of the analysis released today include:
-- Sixteen of the nation's 50 largest cities had a graduation rate
lower than 50 percent in the principal school district serving the
city.
-- Those with the lowest graduation rates include Indianapolis (31
percent), Cleveland (34 percent), Detroit (38 percent), Milwaukee
(41 percent), Baltimore (42 percent), Atlanta (44 percent), Los
Angeles (44 percent), Las Vegas (45 percent), and Columbus (45
percent).
-- Students in the suburban areas of the nation's 50 largest cities
were considerably more likely to graduate (77 percent) than students
in
the country's urban schools (59 percent).

-- Cities with the largest gap between their suburban and urban
schools
include Cleveland (43 percentage points), Baltimore (39 percentage
points), Columbus (38 percentage points), Milwaukee (35 percentage
points), and Nashville (33 percentage points).

The report, funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, analyzes
school district data from the U.S. Department of Education's Common Core of
Data (2004-05). The country's 50 largest cities were identified using 2006
data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and economic and employment conditions were
gathered from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 American Community Survey.

About the America's Promise Alliance
America's Promise Alliance is the nation's largest partnership alliance
comprised of corporations, nonprofit organizations, foundations, policymakers,
advocacy and faith groups committed to ensuring that children receive the
fundamental resources - the Five Promises - they need to lead successful,
healthy and productive lives and build a stronger society. Building on the
legacy of our founder General Colin Powell, the Alliance believes a child's
success is grounded in experiencing the Five Promises: caring adults; safe
places; a healthy start; an effective education; and opportunities to help
others - at home, in school and in the community. For more information, visit
www.americaspromise.org.

City Principal School Graduation Graduation Change
District Rate Rate (Percentage
(Class of (Class of Points)
2005) 1995)

Philadelphia Philadelphia City 62.1% 38.9% +23.2
School District

Tucson Tucson Unified 71.6% 48.9% +22.7
District
Kansas City Kansas City 53.5% 33.6% +19.7
School District
El Paso El Paso ISA 60.6% 46.6% +13.9
Portland, Portland School 68.6% 55.4% +13.1
Ore. District
New York New York City 50.5% 37.8% +12.8
Public Schools
Dallas Dallas ISD 50.8% 38.2% +12.7
Columbus Columbus Public 44.7% 32.1% +12.6
Schools
Mesa Mesa Unified 76.6% 64.6% +12.0
District
Austin Austin ISD 58.9% 47.5% +11.5
Atlanta Atlanta City 43.5% 32.8% +10.8
School District
Fort Worth Fort Worth ISD 56.5% 46.1% +10.4
Miami Dade County 55.9% 5.6% +10.4
School District
Houston Houston ISD 52.9% 43.1% +9.8
Chicago City of Chicago 51.0% 41.8% +9.2
School District
Oakland, Oakland Unified 50.5% 41.3% +9.2
Calif.
Virginia Virginia Beach City
Beach Public Schools 68.5% 59.7% +8.8
Baltimore Baltimore City 41.5% 33.8% +7.7
Public
School System
Denver Denver County 58.6% 51.7% +6.9
School District
Detroit Detroit City 37.5% 30.5% +6.9
School District
San Antonio San Antonio ISD 47.3% 40.9% +6.4
Phoenix Phoenix Union High 58.0% 52.4% +5.6
School District
Indianapolis Indianapolis 30.5% 25.2% +5.3
Public Schools
Oklahoma Oklahoma City 47.0% 41.7% +5.3
City Public Schools
Milwaukee Milwaukee Public 41.0% 35.8% +5.2
Schools
Sacramento Sacramento City 62.1% 57.2% +4.9
Unified
District of District of Columbia 57.6% 52.8% +4.8
Columbia Public Schools
Colorado Colorado Springs 68.8% 64.1% +4.6
Springs School District
Honolulu Hawaii Department 67.4% 63.7% +3.6
of Education
Nashville Nashville-Davidson 45.2% 42.0% +3.1
Co. School
District
Jacksonville Duval County 50.8% 50.2% +0.7
School District
Louisville Jefferson County 63.4% 63.7% -0.3
School District
Seattle Seattle School 68.9% 69.6% -0.7
District
Memphis Memphis City 51.2% 52.5% -1.2
School District
Fresno Fresno Unified 51.9% 53.4% -1.5
Boston Boston Public 58.6% 60.3% -1.7
Schools
Minneapolis Minneapolis 45.3% 47.0% -1.7
Public Schools
San Jose San Jose Unified 73.3% 75.0% -1.8
Tulsa Tulsa Public 48.5% 50.6% -2.0
Schools
Charlotte Charlotte- 60.5% 62.7% -2.3
Mecklenburg Schools
San Diego San Diego Unified 63.7% 66.0% -2.4
Los Angeles Los Angeles Unified 44.4% 48.0% -3.6
Long Beach Long Beach Unified 64.0% 67.7% -3.7
Cleveland Cleveland Municipal 34.4% 39.3% -4.9
City School District
San San Francisco 57.1% 63.6% -6.5
Francisco Unified
Albuquerque Albuquerque Public 49.0% 55.6% -6.6
Schools
Arlington, Arlington ISD 60.3% 72.0% -11.6
Tex.
Omaha Omaha Public 49.6% 64.4% -14.8
Schools
Wichita Wichita Public 54.5% 72.1% -17.6
Schools
Las Vegas Clark County 44.5% 67.6% -23.1
School District

National 70.6% 65.8% +4.8
Average

SOURCE America's Promise Alliance

Erica Garland, +1-202-745-5119, egarland@gymr.com, for America's Promise
Alliance; or Colleen Wilber of America's Promise Alliance, +1-202-657-0647,
colleenw@americaspromise.org