1. School Superintendents Champions for Children and Public Education

2. “The Superintendent is the voice for all the children in the community, including the many children that would have no voice if not for the Superintendent. Today, more than ever, America’s Superintendents have the awesome responsibility to protect public education from the private and political interests that regard our schools as investment opportunities for corporate gains rather than fostering the American tradition of an educated community that is the core of our democratic process.”

3. We are not falling behind, we are pulling apart.

5. Poverty is a Reality Not an Excuse

9. Poverty is the single greatest factor limiting student achievement

13. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD

15. OUR UNFINISHED TASK: 15 MANY LOW-INCOME STUDENTS FAIL TO COMPLETE HIGH SCHOOL

16. OUR UNFINISHED TASK: 16 DISPARITIES IN HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION

17. OUR UNFINISHED TASK: 17 ONLY 29% OF LOW-INCOME STUDENTS GO TO COLLEGE

18. OUR UNFINISHED TASK: 18 ONLY 9% OF LOW-INCOME STUDENTS COMPLETE COLLEGE

20. Education is the key to breaking out of the poverty cycle

21. Wisconsin -15.3%

22. The 5% of schools that the USDE wants identified as low performing are defining the remaining 95%, but those schools are doing better than ever!

23. The dropout rate has been declining since 1972 Status dropout rates of 16 through 24 year olds – Census Bureau US Dept of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey

24. And high school completion rates have been trending up.

25. PROGRESS: RESULTS FOR STUDENTS 25 THE HIGHEST HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE IN DECADES

26. PROGRESS: RESULTS FOR STUDENTS 26 MORE HISPANIC STUDENTS ATTENDING COLLEGE

27. NAEP scores in 4 th and 8 th grade math have never been higher than they are today!

28. NAEP scores in 4 th and 8 th grade reading have never been higher than they are today!

33. Invest in the Young

34. Educating the total child. It’s a community effort..

35. Any questions? AASA: The School Superintendents Association Dan Domenech Executive Director AASA: The School Superintendents Association 1615 Duke St. Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 875- 0722 ddomenech@aasa.org ddomenech@aasa.org