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These Are Our Children

June 28, 2019

The heartbreaking photo of Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his not-even-two-year old daughter, Valeria, made me want to simultaneously scream, envelop my own two young sons in a hug, and do something—anything—to help. Almost a year ago to the day, America’s Promise Alliance released a statement on the forced separation of children at the U.S. border. This image shows the appalling lack of progress we’ve made in a year.
In Roughly 1,300 High Schools Across America, On-Time Graduation Still Elusive

October 04, 2018

After more than a decade of progress in improving high school graduation rates, there remain about 1,300 traditional high schools in need of serious improvement and redesign, according to new research from the GradNation campaign. Among them are more than 800 low-graduation-rate high schools with an average graduation rate of 49 percent.
I Was a Homeless Student and School Helped Me Find My Way Home

July 10, 2018

I first experienced homelessness with my family, then on my own. I was born to a single mother and a father who was absent because of post-traumatic stress disorder he developed after the war. Throughout my childhood, my mother, two sisters and I moved from home to home, sometimes not having one at all.
Youth Share Three Ways to Fight Homelessness

June 26, 2018

What should teachers do if they suspect a student might be homeless? What about non-educators? Better yet, what can governors and legislators do to fight youth homelessness on a broad scale in their states and communities?
This Is Who We Are

June 21, 2018

As I have watched the news about the separation of families at the border, I can't help but think that this is a story that could have been my own. My parents both came to the United States as teenagers. My mom left El Salvador when she was 15 for the same reason most immigrants come to the United States—the American dream.
Leaders Tackle Challenges, Solutions in Latest Building a Grad Nation Report

June 14, 2018

In 2001, the national high school graduation rate stood at 71 percent. Today, no state in the nation has a high school graduation rate below that number, according to the latest Building a Grad Nation report.
In Wake of School Shooting, Students and Advocates Say Armed Guards Are Not the Answer

June 13, 2018

Twenty-three states have moved to pass legislation to increase the number of law enforcement officers in schools. But at a recent listening session on school safety, young people explained why this is a bad idea.
2018 Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Raising High School Graduation Rates

June 05, 2018

Authored by Civic Enterprises and the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, and released annually in partnership with the Alliance for Excellent Education and America’s Promise Alliance, the Building a Grad Nation report examines both progress and challenges toward reaching the GradNation campaign goal of a national on-time graduation rate of 90 percent. AT&T, lead sponsor, has supported the report series since its inception through AT&T Aspire, the company’s $400 million commitment since 2008 to graduate more students from high school ready for college and career.…
For the First Time Ever, No State Is Reporting a Grad Rate Below 71 Percent, Says Grad Nation Report

June 05, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In 2001, the national high school graduation rate stood at 71 percent. Fifteen years later – and for the first time ever, no state in the nation has a high school graduation rate below 71 percent and there are now 39 states above 80 percent, a major milestone toward reaching the country’s goal of a 90 percent graduation rate, according to the latest Building a Grad Nation report.