Alma Powell's Five Promises
Educators as national security experts? Yes, according to Alma Powell, chair of the America's Promise Alliance, who delivered the keynote address during the opening general session of ASCD's 63rd Annual Conference and Exhibit Show in New Orleans. Educators, Powell said, are some the world's most influential people, for they shape the course, prosperity, and security of nations.
Powell said it's unacceptable to sit by while millions of young people fail to complete high school, fail to get a healthy start, or get into trouble because they don't have safe places to go. To that end, the Alliance has developed three National Action Strategies geared toward raising high school completion rates and ensuring that high school graduates are ready for college and the workforce.
- Go Where the Kids Are: Using schools as hubs for delivering a range of services to disadvantaged young people from caring adults who know them by name
- All Kids Covered: Ensuring that low-income children receive the Medicaid or S-CHIP health care coverage they are eligible to receive
- Ready for the Real World: Engaging middle-school students in service learning and career exploration opportunities so they are motivated to succeed in school and life
Powell's organization, which was created in 1997, works to ensure that children receive five Promises in their lives: caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, an effective education that builds marketable skills, and opportunities to help others. Powell acknowledged how the work of the America's Promise Alliance dovetails the work of ASCD's Whole Child Initiative.
