Education: ‘This generation’s big issue’
05/28/2010
by
David ChapmanStaff Writer
Business leaders throughout Northeast Florida often lend a hand to community efforts, but as many of them heard Wednesday, focusing more of their efforts on education will pay off, literally.
The call for more involvement was the focus of Graduation Now, a CEO and business leader education summit sponsored by America’s Promise Alliance, a national dropout prevention effort, and United Way of Northeast Florida.
Haskell CEO Steve Halverson hosted the summit that consisted of a morning meeting with speakers followed by a workshop and luncheon. The Alliance for Excellent Education, which was part of the program, reports that 41 percent of metropolitan Jacksonville’s public high school students did not graduate on time or with a regular diploma in 2008.
Halverson relayed the issue to more than 40 local business leaders during the morning session, stating that education is “this generation’s big issue.”
“The good news is, I don’t think it’s that complicated,” said Halverson. “These schools can be fixed. Every one of them.”
Halverson stated several “truths” that those in the field believe are necessary for educational success, including the importance of leadership, teachers, detecting early warning signs of trouble, mentorship and the message to stay in school.
Halverson said business leaders could become mentors, provide internships, serve on educational advisory councils and make the mission personal. Even allowing parents who work within their ranks time off to attend parent-teacher meetings is a positive step, he said.
“Don’t think you can’t make a difference,” said Halverson.
While Halverson was advocating at the personal level, Bob Wise, former West Virginia governor and Alliance president, shared how the decline in America’s graduation rates affect business bottom lines throughout the area.
He said that if half of the 7,700 dropouts in Northeast Florida in 2008 had graduated, they would have generated $48 million more in wages, $36 million in additional expenditures, $13 million in investments, $113 million more in home purchases and $4 million in car purchases, among other benefits.
“It’s the best economic stimulus plan,” said Wise.
Wise also said school systems have been slow to adapt to changing needs.
Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals highlighted some of the successes of the local school system, but touched on the challenges as well. Changing the approach to a system “designed 100 years ago” will be achieved through setting high targets throughout the district in both magnet and neighborhood schools, he said.
“We do need your support,” Pratt-Dannals told the business leaders. “We are worth investing in.”
For those who attended, the message resonated.
“It’s important for us to understand and support these efforts,” said Susan Towler, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida vice president. “We want Jacksonville to be in a great position to succeed.”
dchapman@baileypub.com
356-2466
