The Graduate Greater Louisville High School
Dropout Solutions Summit
was held on July 30, 2008
at Bellarmine University
Background
Since 2004, Louisville has been designated as one of America’s Promise’s “100 Best Communities for Young People.” In early 2008, Louisville was awarded a grant from America’s Promise to hold a summit and craft a plan to help Louisville improve high school graduation rates over the next few years.
This is something that has been on Mayor Abramson’s mind since Louisville’s city and county governments merged in 2003. A study by the Brookings Institution – “Beyond Merger: A competitive Vision for the Regional City of Louisville” – showed that the Louisville region needed to improve educational attainment at all levels, including at the high school level, to move up in comparison to our competitive cities. The goal of improving educational attainment was incorporated in the Greater Louisville Project goals and has since been tracked on a yearly basis.
Summit is part of a national effort
The America’s Promise Alliance chose Louisville as one of the first cities to hold an America’s Promise Dropout Leadership Summit. America’s Promise told us that they were not interested in merely supporting a series of one-day events around the country, but were keenly committed to supporting a nation-wide campaign to improve policy and practice so more young people graduate from high school ready for college, work and adult life. We have been asked to incorporate three America’s Promise agendas:
10 Point Plan to Address
America’s Silent Epidemic
1. Accurate graduation and dropout data
2. Early warning systems to support struggling students
3. Adult advocates (mentors) and student supports
4. Parent engagement and individualized graduation plans
5. Rigorous college and work preparatory curriculum for HS graduation
6. Supportive options for struggling students to meet rigorous expectations
7. Raise compulsory school age requirements under state laws
8. Expand college learning opportunities in HS
9. Focus on research and disseminate best practices
10. Make increasing HS graduation and college and workforce readiness a national priority |
5 Promises
1. Caring adults who are actively involved in their lives
2. Safe places that offer constructive use of time
3. A healthy start and healthy development
4. Effective education that builds marketable skills
5. Opportunities to help others by making a difference through service work |
3 National Action Strategies
1. Using schools and community centers as hubs to coordinate delivery of services’
2. Seeing that eligible children are enrolled in health insurance programs
3. Engaging middle-schoolers in service learning and career exploration |
By 2010, America’s Promise aims to catalyze and support leadership summits on the high school dropout crisis with each of the 50 states, as well as with the 50 cities (including Louisville) that research shows have the greatest concentration of low-performing high schools.
Louisville’s High School Dropout Solutions Summit:
Louisville’s summit will focus on improving graduation rates among the city’s high school students. Many people are currently working to plan the summit. The work is divided among the following committees:
- Multiple Pathways/High School Innovation
- Student Supports
- Policy Barriers to Graduation
- Life Readiness and Education Beyond High School
- Youth Voice
- Parent Voice
- Data
The charge of the summit mirrors that of America’s Promise:
(1) build a sense of urgency around the issue,
(2) secure a commitment to action from leaders in all sectors, and
(3) craft a follow-up action plan to strengthen current efforts and initiate new strategic activity to reduce the number of young people who drop out.
For more information on Louisville’s Summit, please contact:
Lynn Howard
Louisville Metro Office of Policy and Management
527 West Jefferson, Suite 200
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
502 574-4349
lynn.howard@louisvilleky.gov