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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.
The Economic Upside to Increasing Grad Rates

May 29, 2018

Importantly, the Alliance for Excellent Education maps the positive impacts that a 90 percent high school graduation rate would have on local economies, breaking the data down by state, metropolitan area, and demographic group so that it can be useful for local community leaders, policymakers, educators and parents.
How One School Came to Be at the Center of the Grad Rate Debate

February 01, 2018

If you work in any field even remotely related to education, odds are you’ve come across a headline about D.C.’s Ballou High School at some point in the past few months. Here’s a quick rundown and reminder of everything we know so far.
Four Ways Indiana is Closing Its Graduation Gap for Low-income Students

December 05, 2017

When it comes to graduation rates, Indiana has some serious bragging rights. Not only did it have one of the highest high school graduation rates of any state in the country in 2015, it also reported the smallest graduation gap between low-income and non-low-income students—no easy feat, considering more than one-third of Indiana students come from low-income families. So how did they do it?
This October, American Graduate Day Will Look Beyond High School Graduation

September 27, 2017

For the last five years, American Graduate Day has emphasized the importance of high school graduation through telling stories, creating resources, and building community connections.
What’s Working: Four Ways Policymakers Can Use Data to Improve Schools

July 26, 2017

Along with spotlighting states that can serve as examples to the rest of the country, Time to Act 2017: Put Data in the Hands of the People challenges leaders in education agencies, state boards, legislatures, and governors to prioritize the effective use of data in the following four ways.
Four College Students Share What it Was Like to be Homeless—and What they Learned from It

June 07, 2017

The four students quoted in this story come from states across the country, but they all have two things in common: First, they used to be homeless. Second, they found a way to graduate high school and enroll in college anyway.
Milwaukee summit charges students to be change-makers—and for adults not to stand in their way

January 18, 2017

Much of the day’s conversation stemmed from the idea that young people have all the intelligence, creativity, and drive they need to be successful—unfortunately, adults (and society at large) often limit this independence or otherwise fail to provide the support that young people need to develop their own potential.
Ann Arbor Summit Gets Creative with Youth Engagement

November 03, 2016

“Our hope was to provide an outlet for youth and adults across Washtenaw County to come together for interactive and engaging programming,” said Kelsey Cavanagh-Strong of Neutral Zone, describing the GradNation Community Summit they hosted in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Oct. 20.
Sarasota Summit Offers More than One Path for Post-High School Success

November 03, 2016

“Eyebrows shot up and mouths dropped open as about 100 local high school students calculated how much more money they could make with a bachelor's degree than as high school dropouts,” the Herald Tribune recently wrote, reporting on the GradNation Community Summit held in Sarasota County.