Juneau to Announce Grantees for Graduation Matters Challenge Fund – Coincides with Statewide Release of Graduation and Dropout Data

Superintendent Denise Juneau will announce 21 grant awards to 22 Montana schools to increase the number of Montana students who graduate from high school prepared for college and careers, for a total of $150,000 to support Graduation Matters initiatives across the state. The Office of Public Instruction was awarded $450,000 over three years from the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation http://www.dpwfoundation.org/ to support community-based Graduation Matters initiatives.

Superintendent Juneau stated, "Schools are setting high goals to improve their graduation rates and engage their entire communities in supporting student success. If communities are successful in reaching their goals, we will be able to cut the statewide dropout rate in half by 2014."

The Office of Public Instruction is also releasing statewide dropout and graduation data, including a new four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate. This is the first time Montana is able to measure students who started their Freshman year together in 2007 and graduated together with a regular diploma within four years.

WHO: Superintendent Denise Juneau, local Graduation Matters communities

WHAT: Celebrations with schools and communities announcing Graduation Matters Montana Challenge Fund grant awards and the release of statewide graduation and dropout data

WHEN/WHERE:

Tuesday, March 20
Graduation Matters Billings – 12 pm
Lincoln Center, Board Room, 415 N 30th Street, Billings

Graduation Matters Hardin – 5 pm
Hardin High School, 585 West John Deere Road, Hardin

Wednesday, March 21
Graduation Matters Gallatin Valley – 10 am
Bozeman High School, Courtyard or Library, depending on weather
Bozeman, Belgrade and Livingston will be represented

Graduation Matters Butte and Graduation Matters Anaconda – 3:00 pm
Butte High School, Common Room, 401 S Wyoming, Butte