Getting to Graduation

Students: I want to hear from you (parents, teachers, and schools, too!)

As we begin the new year, I want to continue the statewide conversation about how to make sure every young person in Oregon has a chance to succeed in school — all the way through to graduation day.

Working on the long-overdue reforms for K-12 education that Congress agreed on in a bipartisan fashion at the end of 2015, my top priority was to take on the challenge of increasing high school graduation rates in Oregon and nationwide.

I was proud to see a new law I wrote passed in 2015 to empower underperforming schools and communities to raise their graduation rates. It gives schools and communities new tools to help the lowest performing schools graduate more students who are more excited about learning.

How the turnaround happens is up to local schools, teachers and parents.

That’s the most important part of the new law: giving your communities a chance to develop fresh ideas that will get Oregon from the fourth lowest high school graduation rate in the nation to one of America’s top performers.

I want to hear from the experts, the people who are living this every day — students, teachers, parents, principals and educators of every kind — about how to ensure every young Oregonian is able to add a high school diploma to a long list of future successes.

The numbers are unacceptable. More than a quarter of Oregon high school students do not graduate.

I’d be the first to say that one federal law doesn’t ensure every student gets to graduation day. I strongly believe that, working together, there are actions that can be taken to help more students walk across the stage at graduation.

When I asked students across Oregon whether they’d participate and give their ideas, several shouted from their high school auditoriums, “Bring it on!”

So let’s get going.

Please submit YOUR proposals, concerns, suggestions here, tweet them at me @RonWyden, or comment on this post.