Baltimore Times May 2, 2008

HEADLINE: A Call to Action to Prevent the Dropout Crisis in Baltimore Schools

Communities In Schools Joins the Fund for Educational Excellence and the Baltimore City Public School System to Focus on Dropout Prevention in Baltimore

Bill Milliken, founder and Vice Chairman of Communities In Schools, Inc., the nation's largest dropout prevention organization, joined Dr. Andrés A. Alonso, CEO of the Baltimore City Public School System and the Fund for Educational Excellence to highlight ways communities can come together to end the nation's dropout crisis. Milliken and Dr. Alonso were the featured speakers at the Fund's "Dropout Prevention: A Call to Action" event on April 28 at The Belvedere in Baltimore.

"We are extremely pleased to host such an important dialogue about the future of our young people. The Fund for Educational Excellence is strongly committed to providing schools in Baltimore City with the tools they need to create successful learning environments for all students," said Lisa M. Wright, President and CEO of the Fund for Educational Excellence.

Communities In Schools has a 30-year record of success in stemming the dropouts by bringing community resources directly to the students who most need them. Milliken discussed his organization's efforts and his latest book, The Last Dropout: Stop the Epidemic!, which highlights the CIS Model and provides dropout prevention strategies that can be implemented by communities across the country.

"With more than one in three young people failing to graduate each year, we cannot afford to ignore the dropout crisis in this country. We are losing roughly the population of a good-sized American city each year, and that is a social and economic issue that affects all of us," Milliken said.

Dr. Alonso later discussed his district's efforts to improve graduation rates in Baltimore.

"The drop-out epidemic in schools across this country is unacceptable, and inexcusable. For far too long, we have all failed students, losing thousands of kids each year to the streets. The time is now for educators, politicians, parents, students and other community stakeholders to step-up and take collective responsibility for the success of our schools and students. Schools are the lifeline of our communities, when they thrive, our cities thrive," Dr. Alonso said.

Roughly 100 educators, civic and business leaders, and others who have a commitment to ending the dropout crisis in Baltimore attended the event.

The Fund for Educational Excellence is a 501(c)(3) local education fund that supports the continuous improvement of student achievement through innovative research, programs, resources, and stakeholder engagement designed to promote ongoing district reform. For over 20 years, the Fund has kept Baltimore's students, teachers and principals at the heart of its work. Its educational reform initiatives are research-driven, standards-based models for creating and managing highly effective learning environments in which all students and teachers have the ability to succeed.

Founded in 1977, Communities In Schools is the nation's largest dropout prevention organization, working in more than 3,400 K-12 public schools. Today, nearly 1.2 million young people every year receive direct services through more than 200 Communities In Schools local affiliates in 27 states and the District of Columbia. Between 80-90 percent of students tracked by CIS show improvement in academic achievement, attendance, behavior and promotion to the next grade level.