Staff Writer
Leaders from a cross-section of the Augusta community will come together this summer to tackle the issue of high school dropouts by talking frankly about the problem, evaluating existing efforts and developing a comprehensive plan to keep children in school.
The Richmond County school system is one of 105 agencies nationwide to receive a grant from the America's Promise Alliance to conduct a dropout-prevention summit. America's Promise is a children's advocacy group founded by former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
"We have to have an educated society," said Tina Marshall-Bradley, the co-chairwoman of the local summit team and special assistant to the provost at Paine College. "I'm actually very, very excited about our strategy."
Planners for the June 24 summit are reviewing data and analyzing efforts to determine what is being done to address the issue, who is being served, who isn't and where services are being duplicated.
Often educators identify a problem, such as dropouts, but treat the symptom instead, Dr. Marshall-Bradley said. The intent is to find the source of the dropout problem and develop a five-year action plan.
Committees are already being formed to address the five promises of America's Promise -- caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education and opportunities to help others.
Richmond County Director of Student Services Carol Rountree said the summit, which will include student representatives, will also seek to learn what in the neighborhoods draws students away from school.
"We do a lot of talking at kids, but we need to ask them," Dr. Rountree said.
It's going to take a collaborative approach, she said.
"Until we have a serious bridge between public education and the community, we're not going to be able to address their needs," Dr. Rountree said, noting that churches have special programs for students that schools aren't always aware of. "This community has a lot of resources. We just need to find a way to link them all."
Colleen Wilber, a spokeswoman for America's Promise, said the summit is more than just a meeting.
"We want this to be the start of a movement," she said.
The alliance has identified dropouts as a pressing issue. A high school diploma is the No. 1 indicator of future success, and dropping out of school strongly correlates with being incarcerated, Ms. Wilber said.
Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.
LOW GRADUATION RATE
Richmond County applied to hold the summit because of its graduation rate, which is particularly low for black males. It ranks as the sixth-lowest of any large school system in the country for black male graduation rates, according to the Schott Foundation for Public Education.
