During their seventy-sixth annual meeting on June 20–23, the U.S. Conference of Mayors called on the federal government to take a more active role in ensuring that students are prepared for and have access to college. They passed a resolution that asks for increased funding for the GEAR UP and TRIO programs, asks Congress to adopt and fund the Graduation Promise Act and the GRADUATES Act, and urges support for financial assistance for all students who want to attend college.
“The U.S. Conference of Mayors recognizes that to compete with their international peers, American students must graduate from high school with the academic foundation they will need to participate in postsecondary education and succeed in a twenty-first 21st century economy,” the resolution reads.
The resolution was introduced by Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco and cosponsored by Mayors Michael Bloomberg of New York,Cory Booker of Newark, Martin Chavez of Albuquerque, David Cicilline of Providence, Richard Daley of Chicago, Karl Dean of Nashville,Carlos Diaz of Miami, Phil Gordon of Phoenix, Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, R.T. Ryback of Minneapolis, and Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles.
Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia, praised the mayors’ resolution. “By calling for Congress to take major action to improve high schools, the nations’ mayors directly link quality education to creating safe and economically thriving communities,” he said. “These mayors, many in charge of our largest cities, are the first responders to America’s toughest challenges—a declining economy, inadequate health care, and fighting crime. Their resolution endorses the Graduation Promise Act and the GRADUATES Act, which will use data and proven methods to identify troubled high schools and will work with local and state officials to increase graduation rates and academic success.”
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of thirty thousand or more. Currently, there are over 1,100 such cities in the United States, each of which is represented in the conference by its mayor.
More information on the U.S. Conference of Mayors and its annual conference is available at http://www.usmayors.org/.
More information on the Graduation Promise Act and the GRADUATES Act is available here.