Student Success Soars in North Carolina School District
Washington, D.C. (September 12, 2012) — The National Youth Leadership Council and Guilford County Schools will host a public briefing Thursday, September 13, 2012 on Capitol Hill to discuss how a North Carolina school district achieved high levels of academic success by implementing a character development and service-learning initiative. Three years after the initiative began the district has reduced the number of low-performing schools from ten to zero.
Convened by North Carolina’s Senator Kay Hagan (D.) and Representative Howard Coble (R.), a panel of speakers including GCS Superintendent Maurice Green, high school students Tyler Hardin and Alhosainy Altaher, and representatives from GCS, NYLC, Communities in Schools, and the Department of Education will talk about the academic and civic successes the district has achieved and how service-learning has contributed to district-wide improvement.
The district serves more than 72,000 students and is North Carolina’s third largest school district, ranking among the 50 largest districts nationally. Out of 13 schools in North Carolina to achieve 100-percent graduation rates in 2011, eight were in Guilford County. The 2011 school year also saw the highest level of collegiate financial scholarships awarded to students with more than $120 million in scholarship funds.
“We wanted to get to a place where all of our young people understood their place in the world and how they can make an impact,” explains Green. Service-learning is a way of teaching that helps students use what they are learning in the classroom to solve community problems. Since 2010, NYLC has provided district-wide trainings to teachers and high school students to become service-learning leaders, and is using lessons learned in GCS to help transform other school districts across the United States.
“Young people have the ingenuity, passion, and creativity to make positive change in the education system,” said NYLC CEO Kelita Bak. “So much of what we hear today is about what is wrong with our education system. Today, we look forward to hearing a story of what is working to drive excellence and achievement and how young people are at the heart of that solution.”
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About the National Youth Leadership Council
At the National Youth Leadership Council, we strive for a world where all young people are valued and called on to lead. With passion, creativity, and ingenuity, young people can address world issues while strengthening academic outcomes through service-learning. To that end, we provide programs and services that develop young leaders, support educators, and advance the field of service-learning. Visit www.nylc.org to learn more about NYLC and service-learning.
