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What is the Milwaukee Graduation Project?
The Milwaukee Graduation Project is a community effort, spearheaded by your union in May of 2009 to increase the graduation rate in Milwaukee and ensure our students are prepared for college, work, and life. MGP aims to build awareness of the dropout crisis as a community problem that requires community solutions.
The MGP is part of the America’s Promise Alliance national Dropout Prevention Campaign. The Alliance was founded by General Colin Powell and his wife Alma Powell, and a cross-sector partnership of more than 300 corporations, nonprofits, faith-based organizations and advocacy groups that are passionate about improving lives and changing outcomes for children.
Through the campaign, the Alliance has helped to fund over 100 dropout prevention summits across the United States.
Their work involves raising awareness, encouraging action and engaging in advocacy to provide children the key supports they call the Five Promises:
- Caring adults - such as parents, teachers, mentors, coaches and neighbors
- Safe places - that offer constructive activities when young people are not in school
- A healthy start - and healthy development
- An effective education - that prepares young people for college and work
- Opportunities to help others - through service
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Who else is part of the MGP?
Many individuals and organizations representing the education, business, non-profit, governmental, faith, parent and student communities have been involved in the Milwaukee Graduation Project.
Major sponsors of the effort include: America’s Promise Alliance, WEAC, State Farm Insurance, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Manpower, and MPS.
Other partners include: the NAACP, Urban Underground, Pathfinders, UW-Milwaukee, and Cardinal Stritch.
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Has there been any progress?
Yes! A cross-sector planning team hosted a youth summit on March 11, and a community summit on March 19 where over 300 participants from diverse stakeholder groups learned more about the dropout crisis in Milwaukee, shared ideas for how to tackle the problem, and began to develop a community action plan centered on the Five Promises.
On April 13, a smaller group of dedicated individuals came together to sift through the data collected at the summits, and identify priorities for our action plan.
Now, we are in the process of forming work teams to establish goals and strategies related to each of our priorities. Eventually the work of the teams will result in a comprehensive community action plan to reduce the dropout rate in Milwaukee and ensure all of our students graduate prepared for college, work and life. The plan will be shared with the America's Promise Alliance, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and other funders once it's complete.
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How can I get involved?
If you are interested in participating on a Priority Work Team to help identify goals strategies that can be implemented in the schools and/or in partnership with schools, please contact Kris Collett of the MTEA staff at 414-259-1990.
Details about the Work Teams will be available at www.milwaukeegraduationproject.org shortly.
You can also stay connected to the MGP on Facebook.