Radio address highlights small high schools as one way to address dropout rate

LANSING - In her weekly radio address, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today said that a well-educated and trained workforce is critical to a strong, diverse and thriving economy.  The governor emphasized that finding ways to help all the state's young people finish high school prepared to be successful in college and the workplace is one of the her administration's top priorities.
 
"Preventing dropouts requires creative thinking; it requires local and state partnerships; it requires a willingness to replace a system that's not working for these kids," Granholm said.  "Our new 21st Century Schools Fund is designed to remake large, failing high schools into small schools built around the three Rs that matter most in this new world - rigor, relevance and relationships."
 
Granholm said that Michigan has six early-college high schools that prepare young people for good jobs in the health care field.  These schools allow students to earn both a high school diploma and a college degree in just five years.  The governor added that the commitment of local partners and teachers in the classrooms is evidence that we are not giving up on any student.
 
"These are not somebody else's kids.  These are Michigan's kids.  They're our kids," Granholm said.  "Their future, and ours, depends on them staying in school and succeeding."
 
The governor's weekly radio address is released each Friday morning and may be heard on broadcast stations across the state.  The address is available on the governor's Web site at (www.michigan.gov/gov) for download, together with a clip of the quote above.  The radio address is also available as a podcast on the Web site, as well as on iTunes and via RSS feed for general distribution to personal MP3 players and home computers.  Links to the audio files and text of today's address follow.

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm
Radio Address - Addressing the Dropout Problem
October 24, 2008

Full:  http://www.michigan.gov/documents/gov/Gov168_Full_254136_7.mp3
Edited:  http://www.michigan.gov/documents/gov/Gov168_Edit_254139_7.mp3
Quote:  http://www.michigan.gov/documents/gov/Gov168_Quote_254141_7.mp3

This is Governor Jennifer Granholm.

This week, a group of leaders gathered in Lansing to tackle one of the most challenging economic issues facing Michigan - finding ways to help all of our young people finish high school prepared for success in college and the workplace.  Too many Michigan students are dropping out of high school - nearly one out of every six students in the Class of 2007 dropped out along the way.  That's unacceptable.

For those kids, we have a moral obligation to solve this problem.  And for our state, it is an economic imperative.  We can't have a strong, diverse, thriving economy without a well-educated and trained workforce.  So, what can we do?  There is no single reason why kids drop out, so there is no single solution.

Preventing drop-outs requires creative thinking; it requires local and state partnerships; it requires a willingness to replace a system that's not working for these kids.  We must be willing to eliminate what isn't working, including schools that are failing.

Our new 21st Century Schools Fund is designed to remake large, failing high schools into small schools built around the three Rs that matter most in this new world - rigor, relevance and relationships.  It's a concept that's already working in states like Illinois and Massachusetts - where small high schools with high standards and strong discipline are partnering students with adults who care, who are there to make sure they don't fail.

And it'll work in Michigan too.  Already, the first six of our new high schools have opened their doors in Michigan.  They're "early college high schools."  In just five years, students can earn both a high school diploma and a college degree.  All six of these schools have major medical centers as partners, and together they have deployed a rigorous and relevant curriculum that prepares young people for good jobs in the health-care field.

These pioneering schools all have a health-care theme, but others can be linked to job opportunities in areas like the life sciences and alternative energy.  Small high schools are just one part of the solution.

Community involvement is essential too.  And we are seeing that commitment across our state from groups like the Skillman Foundation, One D, and the United Way of Southeastern Michigan.  These great partners, and so many others, are working in their local communities to develop creative methods to help more students succeed.

These partners and the more than 100,000 teachers in our classrooms across this state are not giving up on any of these students.  And neither can we.  These are not somebody else's kids.  These are Michigan's kids.  They're our kids.  Their future, and ours, depends on them staying in school and succeeding.

Thank you for listening.

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