Issue Posted: 03 Apr 2008 04:34 PM CDT
One D, a collaboration of six major civic organizations in metro Detroit led by Edsel B. Ford II to transform the region, responded to yesterday's story on the dropout issue and its effect on Detroit.
The America's Promise Alliance release of a study that found that half of the students served by public school systems in the nation's largest cities receive diplomas. Seventeen of the nation's 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50%, with the lowest graduation rates reported in Detroit, Indianapolis and Cleveland.
While there are continuing discussions on how the drop out rates are calculated and what may be a more accurate process, any method demonstrates that the number of dropouts in urban settings across the country is too high. One D has dedicated its support to improving this condition.
The dropout rate is not a new problem for the region or the nation. The partners of One D are committed to finding innovative ways to solve the problem. One D will convene partners and resources in a different way to create change as evidenced by a Dropout Prevention Summit being held on April 24-25, 2008 in conjunction with America's Promise and the Skillman Foundation at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield.
"Unless we work together to stem the tide of the current high school dropout rate in our region, our community will suffer devastating long-term effects," said Michael J. Brennan, president and CEO of United Way for Southeastern Michigan. "Individual and community levels of academic attainment are one of the single most critical predictors of personal health, life expectancy, potential earnings, crime rates and civic participation. Unless more people complete school prepared to succeed in the workforce, southeast Michigan will be unable to compete in the global economy."
One D's "Dropout Prevent Summit" is being funded by America's Promise, the Skillman Foundation and the United Way to raise awareness of this epidemic locally, to showcase cities and organizations that have successfully turned around their worst performing schools, and to equip school and community leaders with the vision and tools to begin the design of their own school turnaround efforts.
"The good news is that high-performing, high-poverty high schools have emerged across the nation," said Shirley Stancato, President of New Detroit. "It has also been shown that there are conditions which must be in place for high schools to flourish for kids who confront the myriad of challenges of poverty on a daily basis. The purpose of One D's Dropout Prevention Summit is to learn from the people and schools who have successfully changed those conditions, and to make plans to accomplish the same in our region," she added.
The Dropout Prevention Summit, April 24-25, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield. Keynote speakers include:
- Connie Calloway, Superintendent of Detroit Public Schools
- David Hecker, President of the American Federation of Teachers, Michigan Chapter
- Michael Flanagan, State Superintendent of Schools
For more information on the partners of the One D collaborative and the Dropout Prevention Summit, visit http://www.oned.org/ .
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