Editor's Letter The Power Of A Promise E ducation in its purest form is the essential ingredient if our region, particularly Detroit, is to possess the kind of competitive workforce that spurs job cre- ation. But the Detroit Public Schools are in a crisis state. They have myriad challenges, from money shortages to deteriorat- ing infrastructure to a loss of students. Some of these lost stu- dents go to other districts or charter schools; others just never finish their high school education. The most strategic way to assist Detroit and the region is by improving and expanding educational opportuni- ties for Detroit youth. Unlike the chal- lenges we face in the Jewish commu- nity, where many of our kids take their educations and move to more appeal- ing urban hotspots, most young adults who graduate from a Detroit high school and earn a degree will return to the region and potentially contribute to its turnaround. Currently, about 30 percent of the district's 4,000 graduates each year attend college, the vast majority in Michigan. Historically, the Jewish community values learning and knowledge. Given the diaspora's expanse, education, by neces- sity, remains transportable; we Jews have taken our books and Torah and created new communities almost everywhere. When Jewish Detroiters ask how they can personally help Detroit and the region that the city is bound at the municipal hip with, the Jewish News cites an investment in some way in Wayne State University. With the 1998 closing of Sinai Hospital of Detroit, we see WSU as the Jewish community's most significant investment in the future of Michigan's largest city and this region's municipal anchor. one-page application. The only scholarship requirement beyond actually graduating is at least four years of continuous enrollment and city of Detroit residency. That core require- ment means no student entering Detroit Public Schools after the ninth grade is eligible; the time for Detroit or suburban families to act if they are interested in the Promise is now. There are no limits on income or grades. A Successful Model The Kalamazoo Promise, funded anonymously to the tune of $200 million, is a windfall for Kalamazoo public school stu- dents. An evaluation of that Promise found that a third of stu- dents surveyed said they attend school more often and work harder; 87 percent of students surveyed said they plan to tap into the Promise to enroll in a community college or univer- sity. Forty-five state institutions of higher education currently qualify as Promise-eligible. The dropout rate is down and the graduation rate is up. So the Detroit College Promise shouldn't be pooh-poohed as a pipedream. It has real promise based on such a program's record in Kalamazoo. Specifically, it is likely to increase Detroit Public Schools' enrollment and shockingly low gradu- ation rate of 32 percent (the worst in the nation among large cities). Students from families who move into the city as a result of the Promise are certainly likely to graduate. I applaud Nat Pernick, a Bingham Farms pathologist and attorney by profession and a humanitarian at heart. A mem- ber of Bloomfield Township's Temple Beth El, which has roots that go back to 1850 in Detroit, Pernick is doing what others only dream of. "Whether or not we live or work in Detroit today:' he told the IN, "our lives will improve as Detroit itself becomes more economically prosperous He's right, of course. The economic vitality of the region will never reach its full potential without a vigorous central city. And one of the keys to unlocking that vigor, in addition to cleaning up political corruption, is an educated base of young families. Jews have a great awareness of education's importance; no one questions that. But we can do more to help others develop this appreciation of its value. A Promising Conduit The Detroit College Promise, launched this year, could be another way for the Jewish community to travel onward and upward from Hastings Street to Seven Mile Road to Northwestern Highway and other points north and west. We get it when it comes to education. Resources to help capable Detroit students attend college are a natural fit for Jewish Detroit, which extends far beyond the city borders. Building A Team The Detroit College Promise is a promise Pernick operates PathologyOutlines.com Inc. of hope and excitement. It seeks to transform Under contract with the state, he has been a spe- Detroit into a center of brainpower with a high cial assistant attorney general for Frank Kelley, percentage of college graduates. It aims to Jennifer Granholrn and Mike Cox. His Promise improve Detroit Public Schools by encouraging partners include the Detroit Regional Chamber parents and students to embrace a college track of Commerce, Detroit-based Communities in and by motivating nonresidents with college Schools, which helps prepare students for col- aspirations for their kids to move into Detroit lege, and the Northwestern High School Success and enlist its public schools. The net effect would Dr. Nat Per nick Project. Among Promise board members are four be a stronger regional economy triggered in part other Jews: his sister, Margo Pernick, executive by deliverance on the Promise. director of the Detroit-based Jewish Fund; Lora Weingarden, As an entity, the Promise is a nonprofit organization mod- a Wayne County assistant prosecutor; David Sabbath, finance eled after the successful 2-year-old Kalamazoo Promise, director for the Detroit law firm of Garen Lucow Miller, P.C.; which has increased public school enrollment in that western and Alvin Levett, retired budget director for Eastern Michigan Michigan city. Detroit College Promise founder Nat Pernick University. vows to provide his first college tuition scholarships to the Take it from Nat Pernick: "The Jewish community Detroit Public Schools graduating class of 2010. knows the importance of parental involvement in making Pernick's Promise, when fully funded, will be extended to every Detroit Public Schools graduate who completes a simple Power Of Promise on page A6 e take Tributes ipersonally 77,Y1` -`5 Personal Greetings Every Card Uniquely Yours Personal Service One Day Processing Personal Attention Customized Special Occasion Tributes Helping People with Disabilities Be Included in The Community — All Through Their Lives jarc 248.538.6611 FAX 248.538.6615 ONLINE: wwwjarcorg 30301 Northwestern • Suite 100 Farmington Hills, MI 48334 1967520 September 25 • 2008 A5