The Pew Partnership for Civic Change recently announced the launch of a new campaign to reduce high school dropout rates that I thought was worth noting here.
Titled “Learning to Finish,” the campaign is starting this fall in Jacksonville, Fla., and Shreveport, La., with plans to expand to 23 other communities by 2008. The campaign is primarily focused on the transition from middle school to high school, a time when many students fall behind and never catch up.
The effort will bring community members, educators, and researchers together online to share successful strategies and the latest information on what works to motivate potential dropouts to do better in school. Those experts will be able to share their ideas via a special dropout wiki, a Web site that allows registered users to collaborate by contributing their own information or editing existing content.