Education
Over 25% of all high-school students do not graduate on time, affecting employment opportunity and future earnings potential.
In fact, these nearly 1.2 million children who drop out of school each year will result in $312 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity and in a reduction of a skilled workforce to replace the retiring baby-boomer generation.
Our ability to improve these numbers is critical to our success as a nation.
United Way believes that by working together we can cut the drop-out rate in half and break the cycle. However, an ill-prepared 12th grade student does not one day magically appear in a cap and gown ready to pick up a diploma. This 10-year goal means that we must engage with children and families from birth.
United Way in the Tri-State Region
United Way is leading efforts to increase school readiness, improve literacy and keep teens in school.
United Way's Promoting School Success initiative works with children, parents, caregivers and schools to assure that children enter school ready to learn and to succeed in later grades.
- For schools that have large numbers of young children with low reading scores, United Way of Coastal Fairfield County has developed the Schools of Hope initiative, which enhances the early literacy skills of children in grades K-3. Each school commits staff and resources to assuring that all students read on grade level by grade three.
- United Way's Born Learning campaign gives parents and caregivers throughout the tri-state area fun, educational activities to use with their young children to help prepare them for school and life; materials also stress the importance and benefits of early learning.
- Through United Way, teachers in Morris County receive training on how to handle young children who suffer from mental illness. The program improves the behavior of these children and reduces their expulsion rate from the school system.
Our Keeping Kids on Track initiative works with youth, their families and the schools to help them stay on a path to graduation and make a successful transition out of high school into adulthood.
- At-risk students who attend low-performing schools in New York City receive assistance through United Way's CAPS and Focus Forward programs. CAPS increases student attendance through counseling and family involvement; Focus Forward improves graduation rates through academic support and youth development efforts.
- Inner-city freshmen in Trenton work with United Way partners to receive mentoring and one-on-one support throughout their four years in high school, helping them stay on track to graduation. United Way works with these students in their freshman year and stays with them until graduation, boosting their opportunities for success after high school.
- At-risk youth in Westchester and Putnam counties receive academic and social services support through United Way during and after school to maximize their success at school and in the future. The program uses tutoring, counseling and family participation to achieve its goal.
