NGA News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 11, 2005

Contacts: John Blacksten and Jodi Omear at 202/624-5334

Nation’s Governors TO Ring in “Rate Your Future Week”

Governors Reach Out to Students Online in Continuing Effort to Redesign America’s High Schools

WASHINGTON – With graduation season just around the corner, the nation’s governors have declared next week Rate Your Future Week so tomorrow’s graduates can begin preparing today for life after high school. From coast to coast, governors will spend the week encouraging teenagers to make their voices heard in the National Governors Association’s (NGA) drive to overhaul America’s high schools by taking an online survey at www.rateyourfuture.org.

Across the country next week, many of the nation’s governors, including those from Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin, will urge students in their states to log on to the Web and participate in this landmark survey.

NGA Chairman Virginia Gov. Mark Warner launched his yearlong initiative, Redesigning the American High School because he was alarmed by statistics showing that students are increasingly unprepared to handle the demands of college and the workforce in the 21st century. An integral part of the initiative, the survey allows governors to bring the student voice into the debate on education reform and find out if students think high school is relevant to their own futures.

“After holding town hall meetings with students across the country, I’m convinced they have much to share with us on the state of American high schools,” Gov. Warner said. “With students finishing their school year and thinking about what lies ahead, this is an ideal time to ask them to rate their future.”

Launched in February, the Rate Your Future survey will help governors gain valuable insight into today’s high school experience. By the end of June, NGA expects more than 10,000 high school students nationwide to take the survey, which lets students express their expectations and frustrations about America’s high schools and how the work they do affects their own futures. 

Governors want to hear from a large and diverse group of students regarding what they’re getting from high schools and if they feel prepared for the world after graduation. When students log on to the survey, they can share what’s right and what’s wrong with their schools. By doing so, they will help governors update a system that hasn’t been reformed in more than a century. 

Students stand to benefit the most from high school redesign, and NGA strongly believes their input should frame the discussion so every high school student can graduate prepared for college or a high-skilled job. Rate Your Future Week, May 16-20, is really about getting all students – the overachievers, underachievers and everyone in between – to take part in this survey.

NGA will release the results of the survey when the nation’s governors gather in Des Moines this summer for the 97th NGA Annual Meeting.

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