Celebrity superstars One Direction, Ciara, and Rise of the Guardians star, Chris Pine have lent their voices to encourage middle and high school students to boost their attendance. Their participation offers motivation and support to millions of students struggling to get up and get to school every day.
According to a 2012 study by Johns Hopkins, 7.5 million students in the United States miss a month or more of school, putting them at risk for potentially dropping out of high school. In a Get Schooled poll of middle and high school students released last month, students said celebrities, along with parents or a trusted teacher, are most likely to get them on a path to getting to school every day.
Additionally, an unprecedented 225 middle and high schools – reaching 215,000 students in 80 cities and 28 states – are participating in Get Schooled’s Fall Attendance Challenge, a ‘friendly competition’ to boost student and school engagement and attendance rates.
“Educators recognize we need to bring new energy and excitement to motivate students to get to school and focus on their education,” said Marie Groark, Executive Director of Get Schooled. “We are thrilled to have so many schools participate in our challenge and to enlist A-list partners to the cause.”
Get Schooled has also recruited some of the nation’s most innovative entertainment and educational gaming companies to support the Fall Attendance Challenge including Dreamworks Animation, Game House, The Jason Project, iCivics, College Board, MTV and Cable in the Classroom.
The winning school – with the highest attendance gains and highest levels of engagement – earns a Celebrity Principal for the Day. Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter, Ciara, is acting as the ‘face of the challenge.’ While finishing her upcoming album, One Woman Army, she is using her voice to encourage schools and students to get active in the challenge and in their education.
“Music has always been my passion, but school was always my priority,” said Ciara. “Education is the building block for everything we will do in our lives, without it, it is hard to say where any of us would be. I’m proud to be involved in a campaign that inspires and reminds today’s youth to get up, get out of bed and ‘Get Schooled!'”
The Challenge launched October 1 and runs through November 30. To see a full list of schools participating, including current leaders go to www.getschooled.com.
