First UPMC/Pittsburgh Promise report card
Special community briefing details progress in supporting education after high school and college retention rates
PITTSBURGH, July 1, 2009 – The first UPMC/Pittsburgh Promise Report Card to the Community was published today and during a special community briefing Saleem Ghubril, Executive Director of The Pittsburgh Promise presented the first comprehensive update of the program as it enters its second year of awarding scholarships to students graduating from the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Scholarship program recipients, as well as local public, foundation and corporate officials provided their perspective on the program’s benefits and challenges. Updates from the report were presented and focused on how this unique educational advancement and economic development initiative is affecting city population, high school completion rates, first year college retention rates, and workforce preparedness.
The presentation also highlighted key awareness and community engagement initiatives, as well as a critical fund-raising status report.
During its first year, The Pittsburgh Promise provided $2.5 million in educational scholarships to 757 students who graduated from the Pittsburgh Public School system last year. While scholarship awards for 2009 – the program’s second year – have yet to be awarded, the current graduating class from city schools expects to have approximately 900 students eligible for Promise scholarship support. By this fall, the Promise will be supporting more than 1,600 students with scholarship funds.
The primary purpose of The Pittsburgh Promise is to help strengthen the economic future and vitality of the Pittsburgh region, improve the quality of urban public school education and enhance the future workforce for the region.
Saleem Ghubril, the primary author of the program’s first report card to the community, explained in the published report, “Our hypothesis is that healthy regions have vital cities at their core, and vital cities have exceptional public schools at their core. Therefore, as Pittsburgh Public Schools go, so goes Pittsburgh, and as Pittsburgh goes, so goes the region.”
The report outlines the status of three major long-term goals of the program:
Goal 1: Mitigate and reverse the population declines in the City of Pittsburgh and the enrollment declines in Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Status: There are already positive signs that fewer families with children are leaving the city; that more families are reconsidering Pittsburgh Public Schools for their children and that some are relocating to the city thanks partly to The Pittsburgh Promise. The Promise recognizes, however, that reliable measurement of this key goal is dependent on continued data collection and analysis.
Goal 2: Grow high school completion rates, college readiness, and post-high school success of all students in Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Status: Proficiency levels are increasing. Students of all ethnicities are enrolling in more advanced coursework. Also, it was identified that better SAT test preparation is needed. Consequently, the Promise is developing a strategy and set of incentives for more SAT preparatory courses. A goal is to double the current 20 percent to 30 percent college graduation rate of PPS graduates by 2012.
Goal 3: Deploy a well-prepared and energized work force and an eager core of community volunteers.
Status: A total of 92 percent of first semester Promise scholars stayed in their academic programs, a data point well above the national average. Of the graduates in the Class of 2008 who applied for a Promise scholarship, 56.4 percent were eligible and awarded a scholarship; 26.9 percent applied and were eligible, but not awarded a scholarship due to deferment, military enlistment, or out of system school choice; 16.7 percent applied and were not eligible and, therefore, did not receive a scholarship award.
A special guest at the briefing was Sarmed Shareef, a 2008 graduate of Pittsburgh Schenley High School, and member of the first class of the UPMC Scholars of The Pittsburgh Promise. Sarmed, who admits he was not academically motivated for most of his high school years, worked hard in his senior year to make himself eligible for a Promise scholarship. He reported that upon completion of his first year studies majoring in Safety Science at Indiana University of Pennsylvania that he achieved a 4.0 grade point average. Sarmed and other first year recipients of Promise scholarships are featured in the published report card to the community that is available online at www.pittsburghpromise.org
“The Pittsburgh Promise represents hope, opportunity and transformation for our city and our region, and UPMC is proud to play a significant role as a founding partner and ongoing supporter of the program,” said Robert J. Cindrich, Senior Vice President, UPMC, and Chief Legal Officer. “We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the staff and supporters of the Promise, the school district and most importantly the students who are responding so positively in pursuing their dreams of further education and expanded opportunities.”
“I truly believe that what makes Pittsburgh so special compared to every metropolitan area in the United States is our ability to sustain, to improve and to collaborate for an outcome that will be viewed as a model by many,” said Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. “The foundation community here is unparalleled in its responsiveness to the Promise, as is the program’s co-founding partner UPMC and the corporations that are beginning to step up. We are doing many things right in our city, and the Promise is at the top of the list of what will help us to attract and retain people who seek a great quality of life.”
In their letter of introduction to the UPMC/Pittsburgh Promise Report Card to the Community, Saleem Ghubril and Franco Harris, Chairman of the Board of the Promise, state: “Pittsburgh was built by people who dared to dream big dreams and who were willing to work extremely hard to reach them.
“Today, with similar doggedness we believe that Pittsburgh’s future is still full of promise. Today, with similar devotion we are able to dream big dreams for our region, our city, our neighborhoods, our schools, our families and our children. And today, with similar diligence we roll up our sleeves, we mobilize our resources and we unfurl what we hope will be Pittsburgh’s next awakening – its third renaissance.”
For further information contact:
John Ellis
412-394-2647
ellisj@pghfdn.org