HOUSTON MAYOR BILL WHITE, HISD SUPERINTENDENT ABE SAAVEDRA THANK BEYONCÉ AND MUSIC WORLD FOR ENCOURAGING HOUSTON STUDENTS TO STAY IN SCHOOL
July 13, 2007 - Mayor Bill White and Houston School District Superintendent Abe Saavedra today announced 170 high school students who signed commitment cards to stay in school as part of Expectation Graduation will be the guests of Music World/Columbia recording artist Beyoncé Knowles for The Beyoncé Experience Tour concert at the Toyota Center, this Saturday, July 14.
In exchange, these students, who signed commitment cards as freshmen and are beginning their sophomore year, will serve as ambassadors for the Expectation Graduation program to ninth graders who agree to sign the commitment cards this fall.
"We are excited to work with Houston Mayor Bill White and Superintendent Abe Saavedra on this important "Stay in School" initiative. Beyoncé has always been passionate about helping children. Giving back is also a critical part of our philosophy at Music World and helping the Houston community is extremely important to us. We hope that the students enjoy this opportunity to meet and see Beyoncé in concert and know that we care about their future and want to motivate and inspire them to succeed." --Mathew Knowles (President & CEO, Music World Entertainment)
“We are very happy that such a recognizable and loved hometown personality has agreed to talk directly to our students and remind them that finishing school is one great way to reach their aspirations,” said Mayor White. “When our youths commit to staying in school, they obtain skills that last a lifetime and they make Houston a more competitive marketplace.”
“Our parents and teachers often remind our students that staying in school is the way to a brighter future,” said Superintendent Saavedra. “We greatly appreciate it when someone the students admire reinforces that message and supports our efforts.”
Under the Expectation Graduation program, the city of Houston and HISD have provided a variety of innovative campaigns that have been successful in getting students to return to school with the support needed to keep them there. The “Reach Out to Drop Outs” program, that teams the efforts of volunteers who go door-to-door with professional school district staff who monitor their progress, has returned thousands of Houston children to school, hundreds of whom have graduated. The campaign is being copied by cities across the country.
