East High School Once Again Named Division Champs in Get Schooled Attendance Challenge
East High School has been crowned Division Champions in the Get Schooled Foundation’s Fall Attendance Challenge for the second consecutive year.
A total of 225 middle and high schools signed up to participate in the Get Schooled 2012 Fall Attendance Challenge. More than three quarters of schools active in the Challenge boosted their school attendance. East High School’s overall attendance increase was 2.68 percent during the fall challenge.
“The students at East High School have amazed us again this year with their extra effort to make it to class and work hard in school,” said Steve Johns, East High School Principal.
The winning schools earn a stop on the Get Schooled Victory Tour launching in early 2013. As part of the Victory Tour, celebrities will serve as Get Schooled “Celebrity Principals for the Day” at the school. The celebrity will connect with students in their classrooms and host a school-wide assembly as part of the celebration of the students’ achievements. Past Get Schooled “Celebrity Principals for the Day” have included Nicki Minaj, Ne-Yo and Big Sean.
Get Schooled has focused on attendance as a critical metric in school and student performance because it is one of the best predictors of high school graduation rates and college readiness rates. Despite its importance, a Johns Hopkins study released earlier this year estimates that 7.5 million students in the United States miss a month or more of school, putting them at risk for failing to learn key skills and potentially dropping out of high school.
Get Schooled partners in the Challenge included Alleyoop, Dreamworks Animation, iCivics, the Jason Project, MTV, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), Paramount Pictures, and Sporcle, along with talent headliners like One Direction and Ciara.
Get Schooled collaborated with these partners on a series of activities designed to inspire and motivate students during the Fall Attendance Challenge.
As a result, at East High School alone, students played more than 6,000 educational games, recognized more than 1,600 teachers, sought out close to 5,000 online educational resources via a scavenger hunt and signed up for over 500 wake up calls. Participation in these activities contributed to the overall score for the schools in the competition.
To see a full list of schools that participated in the Fall Attendance Challenge along with their final scores, go to www.getschooled.com.
About Get Schooled
Get Schooled is a non-profit organization dedicated to using media, technology and popular culture to improve high school graduation rates and college success rates. Get Schooled connects with young Americans through its combination of on-air programming, online content, on-the ground events and school-based engagement initiatives. Together with hundreds of schools, educators, and students, and boosted by partners like Viacom and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Get Schooled motivates and empowers students to make high school education a priority and college education a possibility. To learn more, go to www.getschooled.com or follow Get Schooled at www.facebook.com/getschooledfoundation, or www.twitter.com/getschooled.
