KnowledgeWorks Foundation Joins National Effort To Engage All Americans in Solving Education Crisis

KnowledgeWorks Foundation Joins National Effort To Engage All Americans in Solving Education Crisis

Ohio organization joins STAND UP coalition in calling for excellent high schools for all students

CINCINNATI, April 12 /PRNewswire/ -- KnowledgeWorks Foundation today announced its participation in a new national campaign to address America's education crisis.

STAND UP is a community-based coalition of more than 50 organizations, districts and schools around the country that have come together to call on all Americans to demand excellent high schools that prepare every student for college, work and citizenship.

The STAND UP campaign is likely to build momentum quickly. It is being featured as part of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" investigation into America's high school crisis airing April 11th and 12th. According to the show's website, Winfrey tells her vast audience, "I believe, just as I know all of you watching believe, that every American child deserves the best school. If you've watched this show today, and you realize that your child is one of the children who is not getting the best that this nation has to offer or if you are concerned about what's happening to other kids in this country, go to StandUp.org."

STAND UP, which launched nationally on the Winfrey show, is designed to mobilize parents, teachers, principals, community leaders, concerned citizens, business leaders, policymakers and philanthropists to become part of the solution. The STAND UP website (www.standup.org) provides valuable information and resources to help make sure high schools are serving all students well.

The coalition was created to bring the education crisis into the national spotlight. As a new Time/The Oprah Winfrey Show poll reveals, Americans are increasingly troubled by the state of the nation's high schools. Nine in 10 adults in the survey called the dropout rate a serious problem.

In Ohio, only seven in 10 students graduate, five in 10 enroll in college, and less than three in 10 complete a bachelor's degree within 10 years. A majority of our urban high schools are in academic emergency.

KnowledgeWorks Foundation welcomes the opportunity to be part of this call to action on behalf of our high school students," said Chad P. Wick, president and CEO of KnowledgeWorks Foundation. "Our best hope for educational change lies in cooperation and commitment across our communities. We must all stand up and demand better for our children and our future."

The STAND UP coalition is a natural fit for KnowledgeWorks Foundation, Ohio's largest public education philanthropy. Among its many education reform initiatives, KnowledgeWorks Foundation partners with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on two major programs aimed at improving high schools.

The "Ohio High School Transformation Initiative" is investing $50 million to transform 15 struggling, urban high schools into 56 new small high schools. More than 30 years of research reveals that small schools in other states have improved student performance, reduced violence, and increased student graduation rates.

KnowledgeWorks Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also have partnered in the creation of six Early College High Schools that are making higher education more accessible, affordable, and attractive for disadvantaged students who have been labeled and even dismissed as "not college-going material." Students in these schools are demonstrating that they can in fact not only graduate from high school, but also succeed in postsecondary education.

STAND UP builds on high school reform efforts like these. The STAND UP Web site provides information about the state of the nation's high schools and offers specific ways for people to become a part of the solution. Visitors to the Web site can:

- Send an e-mail urging governors to support high schools that serve all
students well;
- Download a parent toolkit, which provides information and tips about
how to make a difference in a teenager's education;
- Download a community action toolkit, which provides information and
guidance on how to mobilize a community for change; and
- Purchase a unique, wearable STAND UP medallion to show support for the
hopes and dreams of the nation's young people. (Proceeds from the sales
of the medallion will go to a new fund, the STAND UP Scholarship Fund.)

KnowledgeWorks Foundation is Ohio's largest public education philanthropy. KnowledgeWorks Foundation provides funding and leadership for education initiatives throughout the state and is focused on creating and improving educational opportunities. The Foundation is committed to sharing knowledge gained and lessons learned with others in Ohio and across the nation to help inform public policy. Learn more about KnowledgeWorks Foundation at www.kwfdn.org.

STAND UP is a national, multi-year community-based campaign for excellent high schools that prepare all students for future success. Comprised of more than 50 organizations throughout the country, the effort is committed to enlisting the support of the American people in tackling America's education crisis. The multi-pronged effort will include print and television advertising, a Web site with resources for parents and concerned citizens to become engaged in education improvement efforts, and local campaign events around the country. STAND UP is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other national organizations, with creative work and direction from the non-profit Public Interest and others.

Source: KnowledgeWorks Foundation

CONTACT: Emily Hedrick of KnowledgeWorks Foundation, +1-513-929-1132, or
hedricke@kwfdn.org; or Sean Walsh, +1-866-303-7457, or standup@gmmb.com, for
STAND UP

Web site: http://www.kwfdn.org/
http://www.standup.org/

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