31 Mar 2009
Gift Will Support Dropout Prevention Program
DALLAS—The AT&T Foundation will present a check for $500,000 to the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas to support their high school dropout prevention program at Dallas ISD called Destination: Graduation, 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, April 1, at Francisco "Pancho" Medrano Middle School, 9815 Brockbank Drive.
AT&T's grant will enable the United Way to take this program to Dallas ISD middle schools for the first time, allowing them to address the critical transition that students face from middle school to high school. Destination: Graduation addresses dropout prevention through parental involvement, mentoring and college preparation.
The program will initially be offered to 250 students at Cary and Medrano middle schools, which feed into Thomas Jefferson High School. Students will participate in Destination: Graduation in seventh and eighth grade and will be given the option to continue participating at the high school level.
Students in the Destination: Graduation program graduate at an average 20 percent higher rate than students not involved in the program.
We believe our school district must be a model for sound fiscal responsibility and integrity, is the fifth core belief adopted by the Board of Trustees. For a complete list of core beliefs, visit the Web site at http://www.dallasisd.org/about/vision.htm.