PAST ACTIVITIES OF THE JET FOUNDATION

Since its formation in 2005, JET FOUNDATION INC has been actively engaged in researching and assessing Los Angeles Unified School District [LAUSD] ever increasing elementary and high school dropout percentage. While much media, civic, and community attention has been paid to the academic achievement gap of African American and Latino youth in Los Angeles schools, no achievable solution has been cited.

Although the school district addresses these issues through a variety of programs and services, it is clear that more needs to be done to support student success. Community-based programs and services have the ability to reach youth that do not participate in campus-based efforts. When a study by the California Department of Education placed LAUSD's dropout rate at 24 percent, the following statistics were realized:

Standardized Test Scores for Afro American Youth & Hispanics, grades 7-12 are 57%-66% lower that those of Asian & White youth.

First year college enrollment for Afro American Youth is 46% below first year college enrollment for Whites, Hispanics & Asians

Academic Performance of Targeted Middle Schools

Percentage of children in school ages 7-17 who use a home computer to complete school assignments:

Annual household income of less than $15,000: 29%
Annual household income of $75,000 or more: 77%

IN 2006, 38% of the district's fifth-graders reached or exceeded the math proficiency level. In sixth grade, the total was only 26%.

Less than half of California's 4.8 million test takers reached a level of proficiency in math and English — the goal set by the federal “No Child Left Behind Law”

28% of California fourth-graders were proficient or better in math, up 3 percentage points from 2003 and 15 percentage points from 1992. Eighth-grade improvement in math was not as significant but managed to be the highest of the decade, with 22% at or above the proficiency level.

Nine in ten Americans think children need organized activities or a program to go to after school where they have learning opportunities

Only 6.5 million K-12 children (11%) participate in after-school programs. An additional 15 million would participate if a quality program were available in their community.

The California Department of Corrections incarcerates mostly poor, uneducated inmates of color.” In California, there are more Black men in prison than in college. Black males are 3 percent of the state population, 25 percent of the prison population and 1.2 percent of the undergraduate student population. The annual cost per prison inmate equals college tuition for six students.

California industry will demand more workers with high levels of education. Because the state’s economic success in the world relies heavily on its highly-educated workforce, Californians must find a way to meet this surging demand – or risk losing the state’s competitive edge.

Highly educated workers have big economic impacts. A 1% increase in the share of population with a Bachelor’s degree, combined with a 2% increase with an Associate degree or some college, results in $20 billion in additional economic output, $14 billion in value added, $1.2 billion more in state and local tax revenues annually, and 174,000 new jobs created.

The key for educational technology to make a difference is not just providing students with access to ICT, but integrating it properly. When educational technology programs are designed with this in mind, research suggests that ICT skills and access have the potential to help students achieve better grades, increase scores on standardized tests, and increase school attendance.

Nine in ten Americans think children need organized activities or a program to go to after school where they have learning opportunities

http://www.nationsreportcard.gov
“America After 3 PM,” May 2004 “Stony the Road We Trod, the Black Struggle for Higher Education in California,” Walter R. Allen, Ph.D., Marguerite Bonous-Hammarth, Ph.D., and Robert Teranishi, Ph.D. “Keeping California’s Edge”Fast Facts, “Keeping California’s Edge: The Growing Demand for Highly Educated Workers,” The Campaign for College Oportunity. ibid. Impacts of Technology on Outcomes for Youth: A 2005 Review, The Children’s Partnership, June 2005

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Sometimes in life and in business decisions really are simple. This is one of them.

On behalf of the JET Foundation and our community partners we look forward to you joining us on this historic journey.

Remember, change isn’t coming. It’s here. The question is what role will you play?