For Immediate Release
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
America’s Promise Alliance Chair Alma Powell Says Reducing High School Dropout Rate and Elevating Young People on National Agenda are Critical to Economic Growth
$1 Million Grant from Wal-Mart Foundation Announced During Address to National Press Club
(WASHINGTON, DC)—America’s Promise Alliance (the Alliance) Chair Alma J. Powell today addressed the National Press Club as part of its Newsmakers luncheon series with a speech titled “Delivering America’s Promise,” where she spoke about the challenges facing America’s children and youth and the high school dropout crisis crippling the nation. Nearly 12 years after the launch of the Alliance, Mrs. Powell reflected on the work of the children’s advocacy organization she and her husband, General Colin L. Powell, founded and the inextricable link between the well-being of our children and our nation’s economic health. She also announced a $1 million grant to America’s Promise Alliance from the Wal-Mart Foundation.
“For too long, as a nation we have fooled ourselves into a false sense of security while a graduation crisis eats away at our economic future,” said Alma J. Powell, chair, America’s Promise Alliance. “This crisis is surmountable but in order to overcome it, we need every community and sector to come together. We need to do more than just strengthen our schools and provide more rigorous and relevant curriculum, we need to address the needs of the whole child. That means more effective after-school programs and better health care and nutrition programs with targeted resources.”
Citing research and recent remarks from President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Mrs. Powell demonstrated to the audience the link between the 1.2 million students dropping out each year and the economic stability of the country. According to the Alliance for Excellent Education, dropouts from just the class of 2007 will cost the nation $329 billion in lost wages, taxes, and revenue over their lifetimes.
The role of service and need for more comprehensive resources addressing the needs of the whole child were also pre-eminent themes as she went on to explain to the audience that reducing dropout rates and ensuring the success of our young people requires us to go beyond school reform saying “non-school factors make a big impact on school achievement.” She also announced the Wal-Mart grant, to support the organization’s Dropout Prevention campaign.
"The Wal-Mart Foundation is focused on helping create opportunities for youth to succeed, and we believe that a high school education is an imperative ingredient for success later in life," said Wal-Mart Foundation president Margaret McKenna. "Through our work with America's Promise Alliance and other education-focused organizations, we are helping students graduate from high school, prepare for the workforce and become successful adults."
Mrs. Powell’s speech took place on the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Alliance’s Dropout Prevention Campaign, which is a national two-year initiative to reduce high school dropout rates and prepare children for college, work and life. The campaign is helping stem the dropout crisis through groundbreaking Dropout Prevention summits in all 50 states and 55 communities with some of the highest dropout rates. Since last April, the Alliance has sponsored 31 of the 105 summits, bringing together more than 12,000 leaders from all sectors (education, youth, parents, faith and business) to develop action plans to increase graduation rates. More than 50 additional summits are scheduled for the remainder of 2009.
To further support this campaign, the Alliance plans to update its critically acclaimed research report “Cities in Crisis” and is working with Gallup on a new survey measuring the hope and well-being of young people. Both were introduced in Mrs. Powell’s remarks and will be released in the next several weeks.
Mrs. Powell has been chair of the Alliance since 2004 and has spent the last four decades advocating for the needs of young people and encouraging Americans at home and abroad to engage in volunteer service. She also chairs the advisory board for the Pew Center for Civic Change, and from 1989 to 2000 served as the chairman of the National Council of the Best Friends Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of young girls. She is the author of two children’s books, My Little Wagon and America’s Promise, which were published in 2003.
A full transcript of the speech is available on the Alliance’s Web site..
To learn more about the National Press Club and its Newsmakers luncheon series, visit: www.press.org.
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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 the success of our children 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 about America's Promise Alliance visit www.americaspromise.org.