White House Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Barack Obama highlighted steps his administration will take to combat the dropout crisis and invest in strategies to ensure students graduate prepared for college and careers.
President Obama challenged states to identify high schools with graduation rates below 60% and discussed the administration’s investments to help them turn those schools around.
The Obama Administration has committed $3.5 billion to fund transformational changes in America’s persistently low-performing schools. Additionally, the president’s FY 2011 budget includes $900 million to support School Turnaround Grants. President Obama also emphasized the importance of investing in dropout prevention and recovery strategies to help make learning more engaging and relevant for students, and announced new efforts to invest $100 million in a College Pathways program to promote a college readiness culture in high schools, through programs that allow students to earn a high school diploma and college credit at the same time.
“This is a problem we can’t afford to accept or ignore,” President Obama said. “The stakes are too high – for our children, for our economy, for our country. It’s time for all of us to come together – parents and students, principals and teachers, business leaders and elected officials – to end America’s dropout crisis.”
President Obama spoke at the America’s Promise Alliance GradNation event hosted by Alliance Founding Chairman General Colin Powell and his wife and Alliance Chair Alma Powell.
America’s Promise Alliance is the nation’s largest partnership organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth.
