Funding, Grants & Awards

GradNation Initiative Will Pay for Ideas To Boost High School Graduation Rates

• By Michael Hart
• 06/25/15

America's Promise Alliance and Pearson want some ideas to improve the United States' high school graduation rate — and they're willing to pay $600,000 for them.

The partnership between the alliance and the educational technology company is inaugurating the GradNation State Activation initiative in which it will award $200,000 to three state organizations that have the best proposals to boost the national high school graduation rate up to 90 percent from its 2013 rate of 81.4 percent. According to the recently released Building a Grad Nation report, some states are graduating less than 70 percent of their high school students.

The organizations selected for the grants will be expected to come up with proposals that will positively impact young people on their path to graduation and beyond by facilitating collaboration among entities in their states, leveraging assets and developing programs that can be replicated and scaled.

In addition, America's Promise, an alliance of organizations, communities and individuals working toward the goal of 90-percent high school graduation by 2020, will launch a national learning network for the grant winners and other organizations.

The deadline for grant applications is July 31. For more about the GradNation State Activation initiative, go to americaspromise.org.

"We are focused on creating the conditions under which every young person in America has a chance to reach his or her full potential," said America's Promise President & CEO John Gomperts. "The partnership between Pearson and America's Promise Alliance will engage students as key partners in the effort to provide many more young people with the support they need."