Press ReleaseTHE INSTITUTE FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT STANDS UP FOR EXCELLENT HIGH SCHOOLS FOR ALL STUDENTS ISA helps lead national effort to engage all Americans in high school crisis
LAKE SUCCESS, NY, April 12, 2006 – The Institute for Student Achievement (ISA) today announced its participation in a national campaign to address America’s education crisis. STAND UP is a community-based coalition of more than 50 organizations, districts and schools around the country, calling on all Americans to demand excellent high schools that prepare every student for college, work and citizenship.
STAND UP is designed to mobilize parents, teachers, principals, community leaders, concerned citizens, business leaders, policymakers and philanthropists to become part of the solution. The STAND UP Web site (www.standup.org) provides valuable information and resources to help make sure high schools are serving all students well.
ISA is a leading school redesign partner that facilitates the transformation of large high schools into academically rigorous, personalized small learning communities (SLCs) and small schools designed to prepare all students for success in college, work and citizenship. Through its ongoing efforts to improve the quality of education for at-risk and struggling students, ISA will strengthen STAND UP’s mission to make a difference in education.
As a new Time/The Oprah Winfrey Show poll reveals, Americans are increasingly troubled by the state of the nation’s high schools. Nine in 10 adults in the survey called the dropout rate a serious problem. In New York State – where ISA has established more than 25 partner schools – only 58 percent of high school students graduate. Those who do graduate need more education than their grandparents just to maintain the same standard of living, yet only one in three ninth-graders actually leave high school in four years ready for the rigors of college and the working world.
“At ISA, we believe that all high school students, regardless of race, ethnicity, or socio-economic status, are entitled to a supportive and academically rigorous learning environment that fully prepares them for success in college or other postsecondary education, work and citizenship,” said Gerry House, ISA’s President and CEO. “We are honored to work with the STAND UP coalition to prepare students for the knowledge-based, technology-driven, multicultural world in which they will live.”
ISA is committed to improving our nation’s high schools and, to date, has established 31 small schools and SLCs in 11 ISA partner school districts, located in New York, Georgia and Virginia. This fall, ISA will open eight new partner schools in Union City, New Jersey and three ISA schools in partnership with the New York City Department of Education – additions that will provide the opportunity for more students to receive a rigorous, high-quality education.
ISA is the recipient of two grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the most recent of which is a $7,886,381 investment to establish six new small high schools in New York City and support a plan for the transformation of two large traditional City high schools into SLCs, as well as provide for the creation of four additional small high schools outside of New York City.
STAND UP builds on the growing momentum around high school reform. The STAND UP Web site provides information about the state of the nation’s high schools and offers specific ways for people to become a part of the solution. Visitors to the Web site can:
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About the Institute for Student Achievement Focusing on improving academic achievement, the Institute for Student Achievement is a leading school redesign partner that facilitates the transformation of large comprehensive high schools into small learning communities and small schools designed to prepare all students for success in college. Founded in 1990, ISA partners with school administrators and teachers to create and sustain intellectually rigorous and caring, personalized learning environments. A set of Seven Principles defines and guides the ISA model. Building upon these Seven Principles, the Institute for Student Achievement collaborates with schools to create comprehensive plans and implementation strategies for school redesign that are customized to meet the unique needs of schools and districts. For more information contact us at (516) 812-6700 or visit www.studentachievement.org.
STAND UP is a national, multi-year community-based campaign for excellent high schools that prepare all students for future success. Comprised of more than 50 organizations throughout the country, the effort is committed to enlisting the support of the American people in tackling America’s education crisis. The multi-pronged effort will include print and television advertising, a Web site with resources for parents and concerned citizens to become engaged in education improvement efforts, and local campaign events around the country. STAND UP is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other national organizations, with creative work and direction from the non-profit Public Interest and others. WWW.STANDUP.ORG
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