City of Sacramento and California Mayors host State of California Graduation Summit with goal to increase graduation rates
6/24/2010
WestEd held the California Mayors Graduation Summit April 29 as part of the national movement supported by America's Promise Alliance, AT&T and State Farm, along with the James Irvine Foundation. The summit was hosted by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson along with other mayors from across the state including San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom; Stockton Mayor Anne Johnston, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox.
The summit’s goals were to build a sense of urgency regarding the school dropout crisis, consider best 
practices to increase graduation rates and secure commitment to action from community leaders. Along with mayors from cities across the state, key education stakeholders including district superintendents, youth leaders, business and civic leaders, participated in this summit and helped build a formal action plan for reducing the high school dropout rate in California.
Focus on the state’s youth was not over shadowed by the celebrity appeal of “the Governator,” Arnold Schwarzenegger. Young people from Sacramento and Oakland described their firsthand experiences of how the culture of schools contributes to disengagement and dropping out. Students also discussed what schools, systems and cities can do to 
significantly increase student engagement – often considered the key factor in increasing graduation rates. The youth challenged the mayors in the room to move beyond just listening, and allowing them to participate in the development of education reform.
Following the lead of the powerful youth voice, Gov. Schwarzenegger told the audience of mayors, school district personnel and others that he hoped that the summit will produce something more than talk about dropout figures.
"Walk away from here with a plan so you can go to the Legislature," said Schwarzenegger. "I promise you right now, I don't even know what it will say, but I will sign it. I will sign anything that will reduce our dropout rate."