In 2013, America’s Promise Alliance launched the GradNation Community Summit Series. This campaign built on the Dropout Prevention Summit initiative whose primary goal was to ensure that 100 GradNation Summits would be hosted across the nation through 2016. The summit’s overarching goal is to realize a 90 percent high-school graduation rate by 2020 and to regain America’s ranking as first in the world in college completion. The GradNation Summits are meant to drive a national movement allowing communities to leverage summit events for greater awareness, engagement, coordinated and sustained action, greater impact and outcomes for youth success, and ultimately to effectively and powerfully build our nation’s human capital.

Sarasota County is among the select few areas across the country that will host a GradNation Summit and the Education Foundation of Sarasota County is honored to present this event. During the GradNation Summit for Sarasota County, ideas and perspectives around core issues related to high school dropout and to graduating with purpose in their community will be discussed. Fundamental and critical to the overall success of the GradNation Summit for Sarasota County is the youth voice. Therefore, in addition to the education community, the youth will share their views to family, care-givers, nonprofits, businesses and other concerned community members, in order to inform, deepen the understanding and guide a broader and more purposeful conversation. As a result, everyone attending the summit is able to hear directly from students about what they feel are causes and impacts underlying high school dropout.

Education Foundation