Stay in School Program Celebrates 10 Years of Success, Achieving 97 Percent Graduation Rate for Most Involved High School Sen...
September 21 2015 - 12:07PM
Business Wire
Exelon/ComEd/United Way initiative releases
2014-15 report card, kicks off its tenth school year
Public high school seniors who actively participated in an
innovative afterschool program created by Exelon, ComEd and United
Way of Metropolitan Chicago achieved a graduation rate of 97
percent for the 2014-15 academic year, far exceeding CPS averages
and marking the eighth year in a row it exceeded 90 percent. This
was one of many program successes reported as the Stay in School
Initiative presented its “report card” for the last school year and
kicked off its tenth anniversary year at The Chicago Shakespeare
Theater at Navy Pier on Saturday, Sept. 19.
Some 75 current students and alumni of the program gathered to
celebrate a decade of progress in keeping youth on the path to high
school graduation and academic achievement. Speakers, including
CBS-2 Chicago Traffic Reporter Derrick Young, addressed students,
urging them to stay in school and graduate.
“I want to challenge each of you to figure out what you want to
do and go after it,” Young said. “Find a mentor. Surround yourself
with the right people. Make the most of every opportunity that
presents itself.”
Since its inception in 2005, the Stay in School program has
served approximately 23,000 Chicago-area public school students
ages 11 and up. It currently serves students in neighborhoods where
dropout rates have been among the highest in Chicago, including
Armour Square/Bridgeport, Austin, East Garfield Park, Greater Grand
Crossing, Humboldt Park, and North Lawndale, as well as in Cicero,
Evanston and Skokie, Ill. Exelon and ComEd have contributed nearly
$3 million to fund the program.
“The communities we serve can only thrive if youth have an
opportunity to succeed, and that begins with education,” said Steve
Solomon, vice president of corporate relations at Exelon. “For 10
years, Exelon and ComEd have been working with United Way of
Metropolitan Chicago and other effective nonprofits to give
thousands of students the additional support they need to finish
high school and continue their educations. We’re so proud of what
this collaboration has achieved.”
The 2015 report card reports outcomes for the approximately 365
core students who were most involved in the program and tracks its
progress and effectiveness in keeping students on the path to
graduation. Other report card highlights for the 2014-15 academic
year include:
- 98 percent of students stayed in school
and in the Stay in School program.
- 94 percent of students were promoted to
the next grade.
- 81 percent of students increased their
level of involvement in their communities.
- 79 percent of students participated in
leadership-based activities, such as peer mentoring or serving as
team captains.
“United Way knows that social, academic and family support,
including mentors and internship opportunities for at-risk youth
are critical to helping kids succeed in school and ultimately
graduate,” said Wendy DuBoe, President and CEO of United Way of
Metropolitan Chicago. “The critical support that the Stay in School
Initiative has provided for the last ten years to thousands of
students is making a lasting impact not just on their lives, but in
our communities.”
Six community-based agencies support the Stay in School
Initiative: B.U.I.L.D Inc., Corazon Community Services, Gary Comer
Youth Center, Project: Vision, Young Men’s Educational Network
(YMEN) and Youth & Opportunity United (Y.O.U.). The agencies
provide a holistic suite of programs for students and their
families that include tutoring, social services, leadership and
social engagement, skill-building and parental workshops.
Exelon and ComEd employee volunteers provide one-on-one
mentoring to students during the school year. The companies also
run a series of job skills development workshops that provide paid
summer internships to 12 or more students at Exelon, ComEd, United
Way and the afterschool agencies.
About Exelon
Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) is the nation’s leading
competitive energy provider, with 2014 revenues of approximately
$27.4 billion. Headquartered in Chicago, Exelon does business in 48
states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Exelon is one of the
largest competitive U.S. power generators, with approximately
32,000 megawatts of owned capacity comprising one of the nation’s
cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. The company’s
Constellation business unit provides energy products and services
to more than 2.5 million residential, public sector and business
customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100.
Exelon’s utilities deliver electricity and natural gas to more than
7.8 million customers in central Maryland (BGE), northern Illinois
(ComEd) and southeastern Pennsylvania (PECO). Follow Exelon on
Twitter @Exelon.
About ComEd
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based
Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive
energy provider, with approximately 7.8 million customers. ComEd
provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across
northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For
more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
About United Way of Metropolitan Chicago
United Way leverages expertise, connections and resources to
transform individual lives and entire neighborhoods. We advance the
common good on both a regional and neighborhood level by focusing
on the building blocks for thriving people and communities: a good
education, financial stability, access to quality health care and
ensuring basic needs are met. United Way is more than three
quarters of the way to reaching significant community-impact goals
set for the year 2020 for connecting 200,000 individuals to a
primary care physician, helping 50,000 underachieving middle school
students enter high school on track for graduation, and improving
financial stability for 100,000 households. Additional information
is available at www.LIVEUNITEDchicago.org.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150921006087/en/
ExelonPaul Elsberg,
312-394-7417paul.elsberg@exeloncorp.comorComEdLinsey Godbey,
312-394-3500linsey.godby@comed.comorUnited Way of Metropolitan
ChicagoKaryn Ruhl, 312-906-2291karyn.ruhl@uw-mc.org
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