Nashville Women United in Giving Luncheon (Marguerite Kondracke)
November 20, 2008
Thank you for that gracious introduction. It is wonderful to be with all of you today. It is always a treat to be back home in Nashville and to be with so many friends. And it is a special honor to be with you as you honor three exceptional people whom I have long admired - Annette Eskind, Margaret Ann Robinson, and Adelaide Davis.
Local Heroes
These three remarkable women have not only been great friends to so many of us. They have been great civic leaders and givers to so many more in our community, especially giving the gifts of education and literacy.
Why We Are Here and What Unites Us
We are together here today because we believe in the power of education to build a more prosperous, more just, and more democratic society. We also believe in the power of philanthropy.
We come together at a time when the need in our community and in our country has never been greater. This is a time of economic uncertainty like we have never seen. I think we all know what economic uncertainty can do to charitable giving. And it has the same effect on our government’s ability to fund worthwhile programs, as we are seeing all too painfully in Tennessee. And sadly in tough times, when the resources are fewer, the needs become greater.
These times remind us that, the task of preparing our children for the future does not belong to any one sector or group, but to all of us, working together. Now more than ever, we must truly be “women united in giving.”
Women as Philanthropic and Moral Leaders
Times of extraordinary challenge also bring extraordinary opportunity. As women, we are called to respond.
It’s a fact that women control a greater proportion of philanthropy than ever before. It’s a fact that over 40% of all privately held businesses today have women as majority owners — and those companies generate nearly $2 trillion in sales each year. Studies show that women are more likely than men to give. And it’s a fact that women are more likely to live longer, so we will control a larger share of the $41 trillion that is expected to pass from one generation to the next in the coming decades. Therefore we are in an unprecedented position to make a difference.
Beyond Philanthropic Giving to Moral Leadership
But our call goes beyond the giving of money. We are also called to contribute our time, our talent and, especially, our moral power as agents of change. Don’t underestimate that last one. In all the great movements for change in this country, women have exercised moral suasion that went far beyond our apparent political power.
During the abolition movement, one woman wrote a book called Uncle Tom’s Cabin that galvanized national opinion against slavery.
During the suffrage movement, a few women here in Tennessee made the difference when it came to changing our nation’s Constitution to give women the right to vote.
During the civil rights movement, one woman refused to sit at the back of a bus and gave unstoppable momentum to Martin Luther King’s vision to “liberate America’s soul.”
One mother who tragically lost a child, started MADD to put a stop to drunk driving. One wife whose husband was tragically wounded in the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan was responsible for the Brady Bill, the strongest handgun legislation in the country.
Because we now represent more than half the voting population, it’s fair to say that women are the real “moral majority” in America. When enough women are committed to a cause, the community and indeed the nation will follow.
Children’s Education as the Great Moral Issue
So let us be women united today in leading Nashville’s commitment to the well-being of our children. Nationally, this is one of the great moral issues of our time. It also happens to be one of the great economic issues of our time. And it must be one of our most urgent priorities.
We know, of course, that our new president and new Congress will confront the most challenging set of problems in recent history. Understandably, revitalizing the economy will be the first priority.
But in the whole ongoing economic debate, we cannot afford to lose sight of our children.
Over the past 20 years, every part of our federal budget has grown except the share of our nation’s budget devoted to children. That has declined by almost 30%. That is not the way to bring about long-term economic prosperity.
When our children are at risk, our nation is at risk. Our future prosperity is at risk. Our leadership in the world is at risk. And indeed, our core values are at risk. General Colin Powell, who founded the America’s Promise Alliance, has said that the state of our children today is nothing less than a very real threat to our national security.
The Moral Imperative
Today in America, over 13 million children are living in poverty. Over 30 million children are living in families with incomes less than $35K. Eight million children have no health insurance. Among the industrialized nations of the world, we have the second highest infant mortality rate. In Antioch, right here in our backyard, the number of babies who live to see their first birthday is comparable with that of Vietnam.
This is a moral issue! It is not that our children have failed us. It is we who are failing our children.
The Dropout Catastrophe
Nowhere is the failure to invest in our children’s success more evident than our nation’s dismal high school graduation rate. 7,000 students drop out of school each day, over 1 million a year. You know what happens when one child goes missing – it’s 24/7 news coverage by all the cable channels. But that’s exactly what’s happening to 7000 children who drop out of school every day – we don’t know what has happened to them.
In Atlanta, the mayor calls everyone. In Houston, the mayor goes to every home – and those cities are turning the corner. Across our country, half of students of color do not graduate and one third of all students do not.
In the largest public school districts of our 50 largest cities, the overall graduation rate is barely 50%.
In Nashville, 25% of students do not finish high school. This is clearly a dropout crisis. But it’s worse than a crisis. As General Powell has said, it’s a catastrophe.
We are the only industrialized nation today where children are less likely to graduate from high school than their parents were.
This problem doesn’t begin in high school. It starts all the way back in pre-school. By the time they get to third grade, we can look at reading scores and predict drop-outs. Absenteeism is another early warning sign. And middle school is our last best hope. Half the drop-outs happen in the 9th grade.
For the first time in our history, a majority of voting-age Americans say they believe the next generation will have a lower standard of living than their parents had. The American dream is being turned upside down.
Truly, the best economic stimulus package is a diploma. But too many are giving up on school. Students who drop out are much more likely to earn lower wages. They’re much more likely to wind up in poverty, in jail, and without health insurance. And they’re twice as likely to become parents of dropouts and continue the cycle of dashed hopes and dismal futures.
The Economic Cost
As a nation, we pay an enormous price — a morally unacceptable price as well as an economic price. If just the dropouts from the Class of 2008 had graduated, our economy would benefit from an additional $319 billion in income over their lifetimes. And, of course, that doesn’t even factor in the social costs of poverty and criminal justice. And it doesn’t count the opportunity costs to our nation’s long-term ability to compete in a global marketplace.
The Workforce Readiness Crisis
There is a ripple effect of not having young people prepared for the world of work. Now more than ever, a well-educated workforce is critical to our nation’s success. 2/3 of new jobs now require college-level preparation. Yet of our students who manage to graduate from high school, only 4 in 10 will go on to college. And of these, nearly half go immediately into remedial courses because they did not arrive college-ready. Where will the jobs go?
India and China are preparing their students. And the jobs are going where the companies can find good employees. Craig Barrett, Chairman of Intel, told a gathering of leaders last week at a Gates Education Forum, that they don’t need the U.S. anymore. If American students did as well in math and science as students in several Asian countries, our economy would grow 20% faster.
It is no wonder that the world seems to be gaining on us. We must transform our schools – we must introduce more rigor, more relevance!
Beyond the economic impact of the drop-out crisis, as women, we intuitively understand the impact this has on the quality of life in our community. What is the profile of the next generation of parents if 1/3 don’t even finish high school? What happens to our civil society, much less our civic leadership?
The Alliance and the Five Promises
Our children must be a higher priority. That’s the founding idea behind the America’s Promise Alliance. From our beginning in 1997, we have grown into a partnership of nearly 250 national organizations — the United Way prominent among them. Our partners encompass all sectors of our society: businesses, nonprofits, service organizations, policymakers, community leaders, foundations, the faith community. They work together to try to change the future for our young people to see that more young people have 5 basic supports they need to be ready for college, work and life.
Education is crucial, but we know the drop-out crisis is about more than schools. Too many children come into the classroom not ready or able to learn. Too many lack the basic supports we take for granted.
At America’s Promise, we call these supports the Five Promises: caring adults in their lives, safe places, a healthy start, a great education and opportunities to help others. When children have these Promises woven into the fabric of their lives at home, at school and in the community, they are much more likely to thrive. They’re twice as likely to earn A’s in school, twice as likely to avoid violence, and 40% more likely to volunteer in the community.
Yet today, an extensive national study we did 2 years ago with Gallup shows that two-thirds of our children aren’t experiencing enough of these essential supports to be confident of success. More than 20% have only one or even none of these Promises and are on course for failure. The dropout catastrophe is the most startling and easiest to understand symptom of this “Promise Poverty” in America.
We have a lot of work to do.
The Reasons for Optimism
Today, we live in challenging times, perhaps even of crisis proportions. But the Chinese symbol for crisis also means opportunity. These times call for our energy, creativity and imagination like few others before. I am hopeful. We know change is essential, and action is required from all of us. I am confident that, if we pull together, we will get where we need to go. This has always been the way our nation responds to challenging times.
Just two weeks ago, we witnessed something few of us, if we’re honest, thought we’d live to see. Whether you were happy or disappointed by the result of the election, it was remarkable and historic to see the fall of the last, highest racial barrier. We captured the imagination of the world because everyone recognized it could only have happened here. It was a reminder once again that America has always been defined less by old problems than by new possibilities.
It is with this confidence that we are tackling the dropout crisis. It is together that we will overcome it. This is a manageable problem. 2000 high schools account for 80% of the problem. We call these schools “drop-out factories.” We know which they are, and we know the middle schools and grade schools that are the “feeder schools.” These schools need to be transformed, and these kids need to be surrounded by a community’s love and support.
The Dropout Summits
Over the next two years, our Alliance will sponsor over 100 Dropout Prevention Summits in all 50 states and at least 55 major cities. These are not just meetings. This is a movement. Every summit is asked to create an action plan using a framework based on what we know works. I was part of Nashville’s early summit in February.
Nashville’s summit brought together leaders from the whole community — Mayor Dean, council members, business leaders, school administrators and board members, teachers, parents, students, the nonprofit community. The summit helped raise awareness. Coordinated by Alignment Nashville, you now have action plans that will rejuvenate underperforming schools being essential supports to our most vulnerable children, and improve graduation rates.
I think most of you are aware of the challenge Nashville faces. The needs are great. The state has intervened in some of our schools. Performance is not what this community needs or wants, and the problems are complex. Student failure, the drop-out crisis, is about more than schools. 70% of Nashville’s students qualify for free or reduced lunch. That tells you that more help is needed for many of these children and their families.
Nashville Is Moving in the Right Direction
Under Mayor Dean’s leadership, I believe our community is moving in the right direction. The
Project for Student Success that was born at the February summit has focused directly on the factors — both inside the classroom and beyond — that lead students to drop out.
There will be case managers in every school helping administrators and teachers call on community resources to provide extra supports that students and families may need. There will be rigorous monitoring of attendance, which sounds like such a simple, nuts-and-bolts thing; yet it’s one of the most effective early warning systems we have. There will be more after-school and summer programs to give kids safe and supportive places to go. And volunteer mentors and tutors are also crucial.
There is so much depth to these efforts. I’m only hitting a few high points. But I want to mention a couple more. Mayor Dean is committed to increasing opportunities for students to explore careers — which comes directly out of our national research with drop-outs. It’s a proven way to keep kids engaged and help them connect school to the “real world.” And Mayor Dean is focusing on recruiting great teachers, especially for the schools that need them most.
Next year, high-need schools will get help from Teach for America, a program that is doing great things with at-risk youth in other cities, and it’s coming to Nashville because Mayor Dean was able to raise $1 million from businesses and individuals – perhaps some of you. He also partnered with the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to create the Education First Fund — a way for individuals and organizations to support education reform initiatives.
This is the kind of leadership and commitment Nashville needs and our children deserve!
Featured Communities
In 12 cities, the America’s Promise Alliance is helping communities tackle the deeper root causes of the dropout crisis — the shortage of the Five Promises in children’s lives. One of the 12 cities is Nashville. With an unprecedented degree of collaboration, local affiliates of our national partners — like Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs, Catholic Charities, State Farm, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the United Way — are working together to deliver wraparound supports to children who need them the most. Nationally, the United Way is our lead partner.
Read-to-Succeed
Efforts like your the Read to Succeed program are more important than ever before. No time is more important to a child’s development than early childhood. But only 1 in 3 of Nashville’s low-income children enter kindergarten with the skills to succeed. Through the United Way and nine early childhood centers, you have helped change the future for hundreds of low-income children each year. But the economy is taking its toll. Tennessee has announced cuts in early childhood education. It is up to us to pick up the slack for Nashville’s most at-risk children.
In closing, I ask you one simple question –Do you care? Do you care enough to find a way to make a difference? For too many years, too many of Nashville’s leaders did not care enough about our public education system. They had choices. Their children and grandchildren went to other schools. But these are all our children. We will all profit by, or we will pay for, whatever they become.
We Know What Works
Helping Nashville’s children enter school ready to learn and keeping Nashville’s children in school and preparing them for success in college, work, and life are crucial to our community. We know what works.
But we will have to find ways to work together like never before. Organizations will have to get out of their silos and get beyond turf issues. Organizations must share overhead costs like the new Oasis Youth Opportunity Center, which is making that possible. Resources are scarcer and needs are greater. And each of us must move beyond complacency or passive concern. We must find a way to help. Do we have the will? Do we care enough to give our time, talent, and treasure?
I ask the question because I am confident of your answer. I know you are here, as women united in giving, because you care.
Getting to Work
I believe we are at one of those historic crossroads for our country. Change is essential and momentous change is possible. There is a new spirit today… a new eagerness to serve… a recognition that it’s up to us.
It is the fundamental belief – I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper – that makes this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and help others realize theirs. And it’s what makes us united as an American family. “E pluribus unum.” Out of many, one.
Let us join our hands and commit to the essential work that lies ahead on behalf of our children, our community, and our nation’s future. There are no better role models than the three we honor today — Annette, Adelaide and Margaret Ann. Thank you for showing us the way.