Dollars helping students ‘Aspire’ to graduate

Many scholars claim that the United States has a dropout crisis and  researchers now report overall graduation rates are near 70 percent.  African-American and Hispanic rates are often calculated to be as low as 50 percent nationally.

To many this isn’t new information.  Time Magazine dubbed the Untited States “Drop out Nation” in April of 2006.

The good news in this time of economic slowdown and restricted school budgets is that there are some programs aiming to help solve the crisis.  One of note is the Aspire program which is active and supporting schools across the country.

As one of the largest-ever corporate commitments to high school retention and workforce readiness, the $100 million AT&T Aspire program will support organizations with strong track records that promote educational success, from the classroom to the workplace. The recipient programs of this year’s High School Success grants provide a range of support for students, including academic intervention, mentoring and tutoring services.

In October alone, AT&T has announced several grants under the Aspire program for school districts in California.

• $700,000 in Grants to Help Address High School Dropout Crisis in Sacramento Area
• $730,000 in Grants to Help Address High School Dropout Crisis in Los Angeles Area
• $1.4 Million in Grants to Help Address High School Dropout Crisis in San Francisco Bay Area
• $360,000 in Grants to Help Address High School Dropout Crisis in the Central Valley
• $650,000 in Grants to Help Address High School Dropout Crisis in San Diego and Orange County

As part of the Aspire initiative, the AT&T Foundation has committed $29 million in High School Success grants to more than 170 schools and nonprofit organizations. Statewide, AT&T is awarding 35 grants totaling more than $3.5 million.

America’s Promise Alliance, the nation’s largest multi-sector collaborative dedicated to the well-being of children and youth, has noted that nearly one-third of U.S. high school students drop out before graduating — with about 7,000 students dropping out every school day, or one every 26 seconds.

“High school dropout rates are a serious issue affecting students all across the U.S. including here in San Diego and Orange County,” said Mark Leslie, vice president, AT&T External Affairs - San Diego. “We’re committed to helping kids succeed by preparing them for tomorrow’s economy. We are pleased with the response we’ve seen to the Aspire program, and look forward to working with these groups to build a brighter future for our youth.”

In addition to the retention program grants, AT&T Aspire will award funding in three other key areas:

• A student job shadowing initiative involving 400,000 AT&T employee hours that will give 100,000 students a firsthand look at the skills they will need to succeed in the 21st century workforce.
• The underwriting of national research that will explore the practitioner perspective (teachers, principals, superintendents, school counselors and school board members) on the high school dropout issue.
• Support for 100 state and community dropout prevention summits, announced earlier this year by America’s Promise Alliance.

Entergy Charitable Foundation announces $1M in grants

The Entergy Charitable Foundation announced the release of more than $1 million in grants to 68 organizations throughout Entergy’s operating area. The grant awards bring to $3.1 million the amount distributed by the foundation so far in 2008.

Nearly one-third of the funds announced today are earmarked to help rebuild homes in New Orleans. The largest grant, $200,000, is for the Volunteers of America’s Coming Back Home Initiative, which is an effort by private and government groups to create 1,050 housing units for families who lost or had their homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Another $125,000 grant is going to the Louisiana Housing and Community Development Corporation to develop new or rehabilitated housing to be sold to low-to-moderate income individuals or families in New Orleans. The group anticipates building or rehabbing five to 10 homes a year.

“With Entergy’s support, we will have a very positive impact on the lives of our fellow citizens by providing one of the most basic needs and one of the most basic senses of security — a home,” said Timothy Smith, president and CEO of Louisiana Housing and Community Development.

Entergy also gave a $70,000 grant to St. Charles Parish to improve Montz Park and $65,700 to the Central City Renaissance Alliance for its Giant Campus program. Giant Campus is meant to close the “digital divide” by improving computer and job skills for up to 300 participants.

In other areas served by Entergy, an $84,000 grant was awarded to the Arkansas Enterprise Group, a pilot program involving the Southern Good Faith Fund that encourages low- and moderate-income families to save for their children’s higher education by matching their contributions to Arkansas’ existing college-savings program. It is the second $84,000 grant the program has received from the foundation. In addition, grants were received by the Julius Freyhan Foundation of St. Francisville, La.; the Education for Tomorrow Alliance in Conroe, Texas; the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center, Brattleboro, Vt.; and KIPP Delta Inc. of Helena, Ark.

“The Entergy Charitable Foundation’s goals are to invest in programs that help move low-income residents toward self-sufficiency and strengthen the social fabric of the cities and towns we serve,” said Patricia Riddlebarger, Entergy’s director of corporate social responsibility.

The Entergy Charitable Foundation is a private, not-for-profit foundation wholly funded by Entergy Corporation. The foundation’s purpose is to help low-income families and individuals escape poverty by providing them with tools such as education, job training and placement, literacy programs, affordable housing and helping them build assets. The ECF accepts applications three times per year. For more information or to access an application form from the Entergy Charitable Foundation, visit http://www.entergy.com

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 14,300 employees.

Source: CSRWire