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Obama's cabinet
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Posted November 7, 2008
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U.S. Secretary of Education: Bill Gates
...would be my choice. See below: Working with partners in 47 states and the District of Columbia, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is supporting promising initiatives across America that are redefining the high school experience and working to prepare more students for college, career, and life: * *KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) * graduated its first-ever high school class this year in Houston. Ninety-six percent of the graduating seniors at KIPP Houston High School are headed to college in the fall. There are currently 66 KIPP public schools nationwide; seven are high schools. * At University High School of Science and Engineering, in Hartford, Conn., 100 percent of the first senior class earned diplomas this year, and 80 percent of the graduates are headed to four-year colleges or universities. Students from the greater Hartford area are drawn to University High for its college-level coursework and college-going culture. It is a school model developed through the Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI), which allows traditionally underserved students to graduate with a high school diploma and one to two years worth of college credit. To date, ECHSI organizations have opened nearly 160 early colleges in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Ultimately, about 250 early college high schools will serve over 100,000 students each year. * In New York City, 93 of the new small schools opened since 2002 will graduate classes this year, sending thousands of graduates into the world better prepared for college, career, and life. At the * Bronx Lab School *, where students are challenged with a rigorous liberal arts college preparatory experience, approximately 90 percent of the school's first class is on track to graduate. Additionally, nearly 85 percent of seniors passed the Math A and Global Studies Regents exams before the end of their sophomore year. Five Bronx Lab graduates are headed to college-at Middlebury, Depauw, Trinity, Brandeis, and Lafayette-on four-year scholarships from the Posse Foundation. * In Texas, all seniors at * IDEA College Preparatory * have been accepted to four-year colleges and universities, including Tufts, Baylor, Case Western Reserve, and Texas A&M. The class of 2008 is 94 percent Hispanic, and 71 percent of seniors will be the first in their families to enroll in college. Similarly, for the eighth year in a row, 100 percent of the graduating classes at five * YES Prep campuses * in Houston have been accepted to four-year colleges. IDEA and YES schools recently held college acceptance celebrations, where students signed their matriculation letters in front of family and friends. * The first group of * DC Achiever Scholars *-194 students in Washington, D.C., who were selected to receive college scholarships and application support-graduated from high school in our nation's capital. The vast majority of these students are the first members of their families to go on to college. * At * San Diego's Met School *, all 51 members of the first graduating senior class will attend college in the fall, including schools like Dartmouth, UC Berkeley, and Spelman. Opened in 2004, the Met is an alternative high school that offers small classes and a personalized curriculum centered around internships with local businesses. Students also are required to enroll in college classes. Part of The Big Picture Co., a nationwide network of alternative high schools, the Met serves a predominantly low-income and minority student population and has met state and federal targets for academic growth. * In Denver, all 79 seniors in the first graduating class at the * Denver School of Science and Technology * have been accepted into four-year colleges, and nearly half of them will be the first in their families to attend college. DSST is a public charter school serving a diverse student body with a math and science curriculum. It is part of a growing national network of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) schools that encourages problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity through a project-based, interdisciplinary curriculum. * At * Withrow University High School * in Cincinnati, Ohio, 98 percent of seniors graduated on time. Altogether the 171 students in the Class of 2008 have earned $2.5 million in scholarships and more than 80 percent of them have been accepted into their college of choice. This is the third graduating class since the high school was transformed from a traditional comprehensive high school into a college preparatory school in the fall of 2002. Unfortunately, these exemplary schools remain the exception rather than the rule in America. Too many students are still trapped in schools that don't offer rigorous, high-quality learning experiences. African-American and Hispanic students are particularly at risk and graduate at a lower rate than average-55 and 58 percent, respectively. Leaving high school is a costly decision. Dropouts can expect to earn a million dollars less over a lifetime, compared to the average earnings of a college graduate, according to the College Board. "Improving our education system requires strong leadership from the White House to the schoolhouse and a commitment to solutions rather than soundbites," said Roy Romer, former governor of Colorado and chair of Ed in '08, a nonpartisan public awareness and advocacy effort focused on making education reform a top national priority. "We know what works. To be successful, every school needs a strong set of common standards, effective teachers in the classroom, and more time for students to learn." Source: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/press-releases/Pages/america-high-school-graduates-rate-080624.aspx
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