Solano County Superintendent of Schools to Talk Dropout Prevention

Solano County Office of Education announced today that Jay Speck, Solano County Superintendent of Schools, has been invited to participate on a panel at the 2012 Building a Grad Nation Summit in Washington, DC, March 18- 21. This annual event brings together community groups, educators, local and state leaders, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and youth to discuss the progress being made and remaining challenges in the nation’s efforts to increase high school graduation rates.

The Summit is expected to draw around 1,000 participants and will include appearances from America’s Promise Alliance Founding Chairman General Colin Powell and Chair Alma Powell, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Education Reform Leader Michelle Rhee, and some of the nation’s most respected business leaders.

“We are committed to helping end the dropout crisis, and I am honored to have the opportunity to connect with the nation’s leaders on this issue and learn what’s really working in our nation’s communities,” said Speck. “The Building a Grad Nation Summit is one of the only events where you can connect with everyone working to increase graduation rates and learn the latest tools, programs, and research.”

Speck, who also serves on the First 5 Solano Children and Families Commission, will present findings from the First 5 Solano School Readiness Pre-Kindergarten Academies, offered in partnership with the , Fairfield-Suisun, Vacaville, and Vallejo City Unified School Districts.

“The Pre-Kindergarten Academies supported by First 5 Solano are one of our most powerful tools for getting children ready for school,” said Speck. “We know that the time to prevent dropouts is before children even start school, and we understand the importance of focusing on their literacy skills in the primary grades. If we wait until high school to address our dropout prevention efforts, it will be too late for many children.”

Targeted to 4-year-olds with little or no preschool experience, the annual summer Academies have helped hundreds of Solano children measurably improve their early literacy, cognitive, and social-emotional skills. The Pre-K Academy sessions feature instruction that aligns with each district’s kindergarten curriculum and teacher assessments to improve instruction. Children’s kindergarten readiness skills are assessed both before and after the sessions using a validated tool developed by the University of California, Santa Barbara, with annual evaluations conducted by Learning For Action Group.

America’s Promise Alliance hosts the Building a Grad Nation Summit in partnership with the Alliance for Excellent Education, Civic Enterprises, and the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University. Summit sponsors include: State Farm, Target, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, AT&T, Casey Family Programs, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Ford Foundation, Ford Motor Company, Lumina Foundation, and Pearson Foundation.

“The nation’s dropout problem remains at crisis levels, but the good news is we are making real progress to address it,” said Elizabeth Morgan, executive director, Grad Nation campaign. “This Summit allows leaders and advocates from across the country and all sectors to come together in one place. Here, they learn about the latest research and best practices around tackling this problem and network with each other so we can accelerate this important work.”

Summit attendees will have the opportunity to learn the latest research on the nation’s graduation rates and hear from some of the nation’s most revered practitioners and leaders on: expanded learning opportunities; the role of technology; post-secondary access and affordability; disconnected youth; early childhood education; education reform; working with minority, rural, and military youth populations; and the importance of data systems, among many other topics. The full summit agenda can be found at: http://www.americaspromise.org/Our-Work/Grad-Nation/Summit.aspx

The Building a Grad Nation Summit is the premier annual event of the Grad Nation campaign. Launched in 2010, the Grad Nation campaign is a 10-year campaign to end the dropout crisis and prepare young people for college and the 21^st century workforce. To learn more visit: www.americaspromise.org.