Priorities for Action
America’s Promise Alliance has developed the following list of priorities for action to help Grad Nation Communities focus their local efforts. The list draws from a variety of sources, including the 10 indicators that predict student success and the Five Promises, which are the fundamental resources that children and youth need to succeed. Grad Nation Communities are asked to select up to three of these priorities for action as part of their commitment to the Grad Nation campaign. The priority areas selected by Grad Nation Communities will also help the Alliance direct appropriate support to community collaboratives and support local work to raise high school graduation rates.
Community
- Increase cross-sector partnerships to better coordinate community resources
- Mobilize the business community to support better education and help end the dropout crisis
- Focus on school improvement efforts for the lowest performing schools
- Develop comprehensive and personalized student supports to ensure all young people receive the right array of services to help them succeed
- Increase the availability of high quality pre-school options
- Provide high quality out-of-school time and summer learning opportunities
- Ensure access to health care for all children and youth
- Provide community service or service-learning opportunities for young people to develop leadership skills, awareness of the needs of others and a sense of personal responsibility to contribute to the larger society
- Provide opportunities for career exploration and development to expose youth to the world of work and to help young people develop career aspirations
- Increase the number of mentors and other skilled adults to provide student supports and increase connections between young people and caring adults
School
- Implement common core standards for college and career readiness
- Improve teacher effectiveness and school leadership
- Focus on early grade literacy to increase the number of students who are able to read at or above state standards by the end of 4th grade
- Focus on successful transition from middle to high school
- Expand learning time
- Increase instruction in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)
- Develop/expand college exploration and access programs
- Increase parent and family engagement to support students’ academic achievement
- Establish an early warning and intervention system based on attendance, behavior, and course-performance
- Develop strategies to promote attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism
- Offer options for dropout recovery and alternative pathways to graduation
- Focus on providing education options that are culturally relevant based on student and community needs and interest
- Build linked, common data systems and enhance data-driven decision making between schools and community-based organizations
- Increase the use of technology in the classroom
- Include young people as part of the solution