Two groups that focus on state policy in the South are teaming up to help more of the region’s students graduate from high school ready for college and work.
The Atlanta-based Southern Regional Education Board and the Washington-based Southern Governors’ Association announced the partnership last week.
Called “Education in the South—A Passport to Opportunity,” the project will help nine Southern states develop campaigns of public education and media outreach targeting students and their families. The grantee states have not been selected.
According to the SREB, high school completion rates in 11 of its 16 member states are below the national average. The outreach campaigns will be financed in part by a $978,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle.
