United Way announces formation of team to increase Cape Girardeau graduation rates

Citing a need to improve declining graduation rates in Cape Girardeau Public Schools the United Way of Southeast Missouri announced on Monday afternoon the creation of an Education Solutions Team.

By March 2010 the team of leaders from business, education, government, faith, law enforcement and other sectors hope to finalize a plan to better prepare high school graduates for secondary education or entry into the workforce. The team's first meeting is today at 7 a.m. at the Cape Girardeau School Board office at 301 N. Clark Ave. Future meetings will be held at 7 a.m. on the third Tuesday of each month.

"We know we'll have to have support from different aspects of the community that have the resources to help increase the graduation rate," said Nancy Jernigan, executive director of the United Way of Southeast Missouri. "They all have a role to play in helping to turn around this problem."

During Tuesday's meeting leaders will introduce the purpose of the team, divide into subcommittees, review data of graduation rates from cities and demographics throughout the United States and Dr. Nate Anderson, a retired superintendent in communities similar to Cape Girardeau and Jackson, where graduation rates are vastly different.

Jernigan said the formation of the team comes at a crucial time, when statistics show that approximately 72 percent of students in Cape Girardeau Public Schools graduated in the 2007 to 2008 school year compared to 93.5 percent of students in Jackson Public Schools. The average high school graduation rate among the school systems in the nation's 50 most populated cities is 52 percent, according to a "Cities in Crisis" report from America's Promise Alliance.

Jernigan said the team is concentrating its efforts in Cape Girardeau because of the lower graduation rate.

"We know that kids are more successful when they're engaged," Jernigan said. "We need to get more mentors and provide support to help these kids become successful in school."

Jernigan said the formation of the team is the latest initiative aimed at improving the lives of schoolchildren in Cape Girardeau. The organization in early 2000 formed Success by 6 aimed at promoting quality early care to parents and caregivers in the community through activities throughout Cape Girardeau and in late 2005 created the Leading and Inspiring Families to Excel program to help raise the graduation rates among at-risk students.

But Jernigan said this is the first time the United Way has involved so many sectors in such a project.

"We have to do this," Jernigan said. "It's morally right. This is the first time we've put ourselves out like this."

Dr. Jim Welker, superintendent of the Cape Girardeau Public Schools, believes the initiative will succeed but cautions the process will not improve overnight.

"This is a good way to get the community involved and impact our youth," Welker said. "We recognize this is a community as well as a school issue."

For more information call 334-9634 or visit http://www.unitedwayofsemo.org/est.aspx.

bblackwell@semissourian.com

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