MEDIA RELEASE

Step Up, a Hawaii public-school program that encourages students in the 8th and 9th grades to earn the Board of Education’s Step Up (Recognition) Diploma, starting with the class of 2013 has extended its pledge deadline.

Ninth grade students can submit their pledge forms through March 15, 2010, and 8th grade students can submit their pledge forms through May 31, 2010.

Students sign a Step Up pledge form, along with their parents, to signify their commitment to earn the BOE Step Up Diploma, which includes more rigorous requirements than the regular high school diploma in science, math and English, as well as the completion of a senior project. This diploma has been designed to prepare students for success upon graduation from high school, whether they choose to enroll in college or enter the workforce.

Students who pledge to earn this diploma receive a number of benefits, including information on college preparation and financial aid, and invitations to college-prep events throughout their years in high school.

Upon graduation, students who earn the BOE Step Up Diploma are rewarded with special incentives, such as special consideration for scholarships, admission into Hawaii colleges and job application advancement with various employers.

To date, more than 1,000 students from 44 schools statewide have stepped up by submitting a pledge form, however, many more students have yet to make the pledge. The deadline to submit pledges has been extended in an attempt to collect more forms and to prepare many more of Hawaii’s students for career and college success.

To learn more about Step Up and to download information and a pledge form, visit: www.stepuphawaii.org.

Step Up is a program of Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education, a statewide partnership led by the Good Beginnings Alliance, the state Department of Education and the University of Hawaii System. Hawaii P-20’s partners share a sense of urgency about the need to improve Hawaii’s educational outcomes in an increasingly global economy, and have established a goal of 55 percent of Hawaii’s working age adults having a two- or four-year college degree by 2025.

— Find out more:
www.p20hawaii.org