Did You Know…
- Every year, over 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. That’s 1 student every 26 seconds – or 7,000 students a day.
- On average, only 58% of students in the 50 largest cities in America make it to graduation.
- Recent dropouts will earn $200,000 less than high school graduates, and over $800,000 less than college graduates, in their lifetimes.
- Dropouts make up nearly half the heads of households on welfare.
- America’s high school graduation rate ranks 19th in the world although forty years ago, we ranked number one.
- Rap icon, Nicki Minaj, paid the Collins Academy High School in Chicago a visit recently. The students and teachers won a 6 week challenge called GetMotivatED that pushed for daily attendance. Collins Academy High School was one of 25 schools in 11 cities that participated in this challenge that used pop culture, the media, and technology to show students the importance of school. Minaj served as the principal for the day and even led an English lesson. She also held a school-wide assembly with MTV’s Sway Calloway to award high-achieving students and teachers. Minaj presented three top students with $10,000 scholarships from Comcast, and to show her stance for education, she stated, “I am a young, female mogul before I am an artist. As a businesswoman there isn’t a single day where I don’t use my education or acquire new knowledge to ensure my success. Regardless of where you are today, with education you can take yourself where you want to be. That’s why I am working with the Get Schooled Foundation. They are finding innovative and exciting ways to bring that message to schools like the Collins Academy.”
To learn more about the foundation, visit the Get Schooled Foundation
