August 30, 2004

On Tuesday, August 24, San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales teamed up with local radio station WILD 94.9 FM, owned by Clear Channel Communications, to welcome students back to school at the James Lick High School.

The Mayor used this occasion to announce a new education initiative called the Mayor's Attendance Challenge — Kings of the Campus — for all 24 San Jose high schools in four school districts within the city limits. In partnership with the radio station, the challenge for all South Bay area high schools is to improve student attendance. It will be a competition amongst the schools and the winning school's students will be rewarded with free admission to a summer concert sponsored by the radio station in May 2005.

This challenge is a result of a recent stakeholders meeting hosted by the mayor that addressed the problem of dropouts and graduation rates among the local high schools. The meeting also addressed other strategies and opportunities to improve the quality of high schools and increase the chances of

student success after graduation. Recent data indicate that the dropout rate in area high schools has been on the increase.

Mayor Gonzales stated during the event at James Lick High School, "I'm determined to get more students into school, keep them there, and celebrate all of your achievements. To reach your dreams, you need to do your best. To do your best in school, you need to be at school."

Even though the average daily attendance (ADA) in the high schools is not low, ranging from 93% to 98%, a percentage point gain in ADA is worth approximately $3 million per year in state funding for an individual high school. A 93% ADA translates to approximately 2,888 high school students not in class on an average day in the 24 local high schools.