mentors working with children facing adversity in kindergarten and through middle school. and especially in the high risk schools. >> big brothers, big sisters mentoring model is proven to have positive effects in a child's life. and one of the things that united ways do so well is to recruit people with passion, expertise and resources to make lasting change. together, we're aligning our resources towards the key benchmarks of the civic marshall plan. and together we're doing that with many partners and many leaders, like school superintendents and the american association of school administrators. as brian shared earlier, we'll be working together in new ways to make sure every child has a caring adult supporting his or her educational success. >> we're going to be laser focused on three things. and that's targeting elementary and middle schools that feed into some of our lowest performing high schools. using data to drive results and accountability. and mobilizing everyone in our communities to give their time,

talent and money to help our kids. >> we want every united way and big brothers big sisters affiliate to work together strategically and collaboratively to help create opportunity. it's already happening in places like winston-salem, louisville, austin, ft. lauderdale and many other places. community groups, schools, volunteers and parents are working together to make sure elementary and middle school students succeed. >> now, in these communities, this is working very well. big brothers, big sisters, united way and the schools are working together so that when a child actually is acting out in school or fails a test or skips class, a big brother or a big sister is there to work with the family and the teacher to make sure that that child gets back on track. and it's not just about the bad things. when good things happen, they celebrate that together, too. >> that's the kind of synergy we want to create in every

community. we hope to come back here in a few years and report that all 1,200 united ways and all 355 big brothers, big sisters chapters are doing the same. we hope that you'll all join us and together we'll all work to make sure that every community helps all of our children go far in school, work and life. >> thank you. and please enjoy this fantastic video capturing this wonderful partnership. [ applause ] ♪ >> i'm ronjay. i live in plantation, florida. i am 14 years old. and this is my school. i have a big family. three sisters and a little brother. this is my mom and this is my dad.

a lot of kids in my community don't even finish school. don't even care about school. but i just got into one of the best high schools in the city. this is my true story of the people who helped me get there. ♪ >> i want you to achieve academically. i want you to do well in school and i want you to graduate from high school. first things first. let's do that. >> because it is important for a young man to be educated, to be able to take care of his family. and i see that the young men of today, they're not educated. especially black young men. ♪ >> united way of broward county

and big brothers, big sisters have had an incredible working relationship for a long period of time. a trusting relationship for a long period of time. >> we as community partners also understand the real importance of mentoring in general. we're measuring how the children do obviously in school. that they are maintaining their grades and their behavior. it's all about building strong kids who can make great decisions. >> i know that when we have a representative from the big brothers big sisters come, they're constantly checking report cards. we all have to kind of work together to make sure that all of our boys and girls have everything in place to make them successful. >> you have been steady in school, and you try very hard. and this period, for the past three years, i've been so proud of you. >> you're capable of achieving

anything, anything you set your mind to. >> live united is about community. it's about being woven into the fabric of who we are here together. it's about collaboration. it's about partnerships. it's about understanding. it's about trust. it's about truly being united in the community. ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome president at&t foundation, beth shiroishi. >> thank you. it is such an honor and a privilege to be here today. as a former teacher, as a mother of the class of 2021 and 2024, and representing at&t, a proud partner in the grad nation campaign. at at&t we challenge ourselves to rethink possible. to ask, "what if?"

in my role at at&t i was handed recently a serious what if. what if we invest $250 million to try to change the trajectory of our country? what if we aspire to an america where every student graduates high school with the power, with the knowledge and the skills to power this nation's workforce. now, this isn't new for us. four years ago we launched at&t aspire because we believed then as we believe now that it is one of the most important things we can do for our company, for our communities and for our country. but reaching the end of those four years, we had a decision to make. do we change directions? turn towards something new? or do we take the successes we shared, the learnings and the challenges, and ramp it up? and as you heard this morning from our ceo, that's exactly where we landed. through our expanded commitment to aspire, we'll look to drive innovation and education in three key ways. first, building on the successes we shared with all of you in this room, we'll continue our

commitment to investing locally. funding those proven, evidence based programs that are truly helping more students graduate from american high schools. but we're not stopping there. driven by that what if, we're looking to seek exponential change. what is that disruptive technology, that disruptive innovation that could change for the better education. especially and drastically for those in underserved areas. so we're looking to expand strategic alliances with organizations seeking to do just that. and we're bringing more of our own company to bear. we'll start by leveraging the at&t foundry innovation centers. to build an ecosystem of developers, educators, social entrepreneurs and others to put more brains to work thinking about how to raise this country's graduation rates. and last, but certainly not least, by connecting people. expanding opportunities for at&t's 260,000 employees through

an enhanced job shadow, through e-mentoring and mentoring and skills-based volunteerism. and we'll move outside our own doors to engage our customers and consumers. in fact, we unveiled today our first engagement platform on causes.com, a connect site to facebook, where we're challenging all americans to stand in support of a 90% graduation rate. i hope you'll join us there to raise awareness and help earn even more dollars for america's promise. now, we aren't naive enough to think that $250 million, no matter how well planned, can solve this issue. but what if it could start a movement? a movement to turn "what if" to "we will." what if every business, every citizen, every parent stood in support of a 90% graduation rate and took a concrete action to make that possibility true? let's aspire to just that. thank you.

[ applause ] >> thank you, guys. we're running because we're trying to keep on time. now to introduce our very it special next guest and an extraordinary national leader. i am very pleased to introduce reva dominski, the director of target. target is one of our premiere sponsors of the grad nation summit led by america's promise alliance making it possible for us to be together today. target is a leader in business and innovation and all the that we are trying to achieve. a significant portion of its giving goes toward education with a focus on the early years that we know are so critical to children's success. target is also sponsoring a break-out session later this morning called hitting the mark on third grade reading.

as part of our early childhood education track. and is providing a special lounge for networking throughout the summit. please warmly welcome reva dominski. [ applause ] >> thank you, bridge. good morning, everyone. before i begin, i'd like to take a moment to thank alma and michael powell and all of our partners in america's promise alliance. on behalf of everyone at target, we are truly grateful for your leadership and for your vision and we are deeply honored to be part of this movement. at target, community giving is and has always been a cornerstone of our company. we listen. we learn. we act locally to support the communities that we serve.

our commitment began over a generation ago with george draper dayton, the founder of our parent company, who had a personal passion for giving and social causes. he saw the intrinsic link between business and community. he knew that great and strong businesses start with great and strong communities. in 1946, we formalized our giving, committing to give a full 5% of our income, the maximum allowed by law. as our businesses continued to thrive, so has our support of the community and today, that 5% equals $3 million every week. thank you. the reasons that target and other companies give are clear. first, it's the right thing to do. and it's also good for our business. we know that our reputation is built not only on what we say, but what we do.

it also makes us a workplace of choice for our 350,000 plus team members. by providing volunteerism opportunities, we motivate and engage our teams in meaningful ways and attract talent who want to work for a socially responsible company. one of the great social challenges of our time is education and the million students each year who fall off the path to graduation. just a generation ago, america produced more college graduates than any other country. we led the world in math, science, literacy, but times have changed and today we lag behind many other countries. but we are here and we are part of this alliance because we are confident that through cross sector collaboration, innovation and determination, we can find solutions. we can create lasting and positive change and we can improve academic outcomes for all children. at target, we believe that all kids deserve a quality education

regardless of race or class. we believe in providing teachers and schools with the support that they need to help kids succeed. we believe that all children can learn and can graduate from high school ready for college, ready for career. ready for their lives. and we believe that together, we can create a grad nation. that's why target is on track to give a billion dollars to education by the end of 2015. thank you. it's why we're connecting our work in the arts, social services and tourism to education for greater impact and it's why we offer a host of innovative programs and forge strong, cross-section partnerships like our partnership with america's promise alliance. target is also using our strengths to raise awareness of

this critical issue. a good example is our recent partnership with the ellen degeneres show, where we gave $5 million to 50 in-need schools across the country. ellen asked her viewers to nominate schools and the response was phenomenal. the funds we were awarded will be used for reading and after-school programs, new technology, and basic needs. let's take a look. >> education is at the heart of target's community giving and they are committed to helping u.s. children reach their potential this year. 50 worthy schools will receive a grant, each totaling $5 million. >> i'm the president of whitney elementary school. whitney is very unique, because we have a lot of homeless

children here. more than 80% of our students are free and reduced lunch. and when they leave here on a daily basis, sometimes we don't know where they're going. some days, they may live in an apartment. some days, a hotel, motel. some days they may be on the streets. we don't know where they're going to go. >> i'm kristen schroeder, the principal of james sales elementary in tacoma, wlg washington. we're at 100% reduced and free lunch. they may not have things that are provided for at home, like a bed or clothes. it's fairly familiar to have someone that they love that has been in jail or has been killed. >> you know, you go to school, you get a new backpack. get new clothes. christmas, you get presents and birthday, you get a present and cake. these kids don't get that, so i decided to do it. i decided to give them those things. >> when we got here, got the support we needed, that the children needed, it made it to

where i could focus on the problems at home. >> my kids wouldn't have had christmas that year if it wasn't for this school. thank god. >> my biggest motivator are the kids and the thought and the hope that they don't have to live in this existence when they grow up. that they break the cycle. that's my biggest motivator. >> i hope they know they're loved, i hope they know that they're capable, and that they can do what they set their minds to. [ applause ] >> one of the schools that you saw featured on air just a moment ago was james sales elementary in tacoma, washington. and we've lerarned that our initial investment at james sales elementary has created a ripple effect. the principal you saw wrote us

an incredible letter to say that after the show aired, the neighborhood and the county have stepped up to increase safety patrols and services, something that she's asked for repeatedly in the past for the safety of her kids, but didn't get. she's she said that the teachers and staff and the students have renewed energy, pride and purpose. and that the parents are excited with many coming in to volunteer for the first time. she actually told us a story of being in a classroom and the kids were head down, pencil to paper. and she said to them, why is it so quiet in here? and they said, well, we figure that miss ellen and target are going to come back and make sure that they spent their money on the right school. i've worked for target for 18 years. i've created products that have generated millions of dollars in sales and i have launched major brands, but i have never been more proud to work at target than when i received that letter from that principal. no one can do that alone. i think you've heard that all morning. but as a team of educators,

parents, public and private sector leaders and a nation of caring citizens, we can bring about sustainable change and hope. if we are to be a grad nation, it's going to take sectors across the country and a lot of effort and it's also going to take incredibly strong leaders. today, i'm honored to be able to introduce one such leader to you. secretary of education, arne duncan, along with president obama, joined america's promise alliance when the grad nation campaign was announced two years ago. he spoke for us here when he said that education is the most pressing issue facing america and he has worked tirelessly to address that issue and helped put america in a race to the top. thank you, secretary duncan, for all that you're doing to help this country return to global leadership in education and thank you for being here with us today. please join me in welcoming u.s. secretary of education, arne dunc

duncan. [ applause ] >> good morning. thank you so much for that kind introduction. target has been a fantastic partner. they absolutely walk the walk. i appreciate everything you are doing to change children's lives around the country. i want to give a quick shoutout to bob bellfans and john bridge for their ground breaking work over the years to identify and promote solutions to the high school dropout crisis. please give bob and john a big round of applause. this morning i want to provide a preliminary progress report on our school improvement grants, or what's known as our cig program. as all of you know, sig seeks to accelerate achievement in the lowest performing 5% of schools, through far-reaching

interventions. the federal grant supports schools, leaders, teachers, unions, and local partners in the community to undertake this challenging work. we're seeing some very encouraging signs of progress in this first year of data from our s.i.g. schools which few experts anticipated but before i talk about that data, i want to put in context what we're seeing. the starting premise for the s.i.g. program is unfortunately painfully self evident. the united states simply cannot meaningfully boost graduation rates and promise a quality education to every single child without ending the cycle of failure in our chronically low-performing schools. tragically, sometimes not just for a few years but literally decades children have been cheated out of a world class education in these under-performing schools. and for far too long, we, all of us here, adults, educators, leaders have passively observed

this educational failure with a complacency that is deeply disturbing. states and district officials have traditionally tinkered in the schools instead of treating them as the educational emergencies they are. from the moment i became the ceo of the chicago public schools in 2001, i had so many people tell me not much could be done to transform a failing school. i was told that nothing could be done to transform failing schools at scale. skeptics on the left of the political spectrum said the barriers of poverty and race and the attachment of parents to the neighborhood schools were just too tough to overcome. those on the right of the political spectrum said that teachers and unions and district administrators would never buy into dramatic and fundamental change. at the national level the no child left behind law required persistently low performing schools to take action to improve student learning. in reality, chronically under performing schools were required to do little and for years the

federal government provided little or no resources to help support change in these schools. almost no high schools, for example, were included in federal school improvement efforts even though just 15% of our nation's high schools produce half, 50%, of our nation's 1.2 million dropouts. adults admired the problem, pointed fingers, bickered, and at the end of the day nothing meaningful changed for the nation's children. early in his administration president obama said that america could no longer maintain the status quo in chronically low performing schools. we could not continue to tinker. he believes, and i believe, that dramatic change is desperately needed in low-performing schools and we absolutely reject the ideas that some schools or some children or some neighborhoods are just destined to fail.

so in 2009 our administration with the support of congress created a new and much more ambitious program for turning around low-performing schools. it gives states and districts four options for dramatic improvement but all four options require schools to institute far-reaching changes to improve student learning. as my friend, the head of the nea says, a tweet here or a toggle there will not lead to fundamental change. for the first time, the administration put serious resources into turning around schools, to the tune of $4 billion. that money has gone to over 1,200 schools, each of which got a three-year grant of up to $2 million per school and in our first cohort of schools, 45%, almost half, were high schools. we wanted to attack the toughest challenges head on. almost immediately arm chair analysts, blogger, and pundits almost uniformly predicted the sig program would flop.

they said it would be a terrible waste of time, talent, good will and taxpayer dollars. they said it would have little effect on student learning and on student outcomes. they said that even if the program worked to turn around a few schools, it would never succeed at scale or produce lasting change. fortunately, great teachers, great school leaders, and great community partners and parents didn't listen to those skeptics and most importantly, students themselves more than stepped up to the challenge. these courageous teachers, school leaders and community partners understood that turning around low-performing schools is some of the toughest, most controversial work they would ever undertake. they knew it was also among the most important and potentially rewarding work they would ever do in their entire careers. they knew the difficulty of the work could not be an excuse for inaction. they didn't claim to have all the answers. they approached this work, as we all try to do, with real humanity coupled with a

tremendous sense of urgency. we're still getting in the results from the first year of the s.i.g. program. our preliminary data shows that after just one year the commitment to change is producing dramatic gains in learning in a significant number of schools. we all know that none of these schools are yet where they need to be or where they will be, but the progress and sense of momentum and the sense of hope is real. we have about 850 schools in the first s.i.g. cohort and preliminary achievement data from 43 states covering about 700 of these schools in the first year of the program. in year one roughly 1 in 4 schools saw double-digit increases in math proficiency, about 1 in 5 schools had double-digit increases in reading proficiency. all told in roughly 60% of s.i.g. schools the percent of students proficient in math or reading went up in just the first year. now as encouraging as these increases and academic achievement are, i want to be

clear that obviously they're still preliminary. we're only talking about the first year data and everyone realizes that we'll need several years of data to confirm a lasting improvement in academic achievement. we're also continuing to gather data on other critical outcomes that matter to assessing student progress, things like graduation rates, dropout rates, discipline, attendance, and other indices. so this is very much a first look at the initial results of s.i.g. and it is encouraging to see that rigorous research in cities like philly and new york city is also finding the turn around schools and reconstituted schools can dramatically improve student performance and substantially boost graduation rates. even more encouraging they're doing so district wide, not in isolated pockets of success. as we all know, scale is so important to this effort. it is equally heartening to hear as we learned earlier this morning in the grand nation update there has been a big drop in the number of high school

dropout factories nationwide, especially since 2008. from 2008 to 2010 the number of high schools in america where graduation is not the norm fell from about 1,750 schools to 1,550 schools and all told nearly 400,000 fewer students attended high school dropout factories in 2010 than just two years earlier. what are the ingredients? what are the secrets to this success? in a s.i.g. program we're seeing the schools that boost student achievement tend to share two common elements. first, they have a new dynamic leader deeply committed to the on students and to the surrounding communities. i'm talking about extraordinary principles, like roy sandoval, who works on a turnaround high school on an indian reservation, 200 miles northeast of arizona. every monday he gets up early and drives two and a half hours to his school. all week long he lives on the

reservation before driving two and a half hours back to his family for the weekend. the second thing that turn around schools have in common is they have teachers and adults that share a focus on improving instruction through collaboration and through the use of data. all four of the s.i.g. models give professionals in the schools the resources they need to be ambitious teachers. they all provide for embedded professional development, greater use of data to inform instruction and increased learning time including more time for collaboration among teachers and they all provide for improved teacher evaluation systems, that for the first time provide meaningful feedback to support instruction and rigorous instructional programs aligned with state standards. the road to success is not the program itself. it is the focus, the passion, it's the commitment of practitioners that drives success. contrary to a lot of predictions made about s.i.g., the program helped to spur innovation in the

field instead of somehow stifling it. max field magnet elementary school in st. paul, minnesota, has adopted a peer-to-peer observation system, and now requires all teachers to be observed in their classrooms and also to serve as observers in other teachers' classrooms three times a year. in ontario high school in ontario, oregon, teachers are making better and smarter use of technology to improve instruction in realtime. in las vegas, the principal of kit carson elementary, cynthia marlow, used sig funds to institute a tutoring program, which added an hour of learning time at the end of the school day. and the result of that additional hour, reading and math proficiency both improved by more than 20 percentage points. down the road in reno smith ridge elementary hired a stew coach and data specialist to give teachers meaningful feedback and daily coaching. students themselves have a big role in tracking and analyzing their own progress and