Abington Again Named One of the Nation’s 100 Best Communities for Young People

By America’s Promise Alliance and ING

Abington is a FIVE TIME WINNER! 

The only FIVE-Time Winner in Pennsylvania!

Watch Video of the Announcement

Competition Recognizes Communities Taking Action to
Help Reduce Local Dropout Rates and Create Brighter Futures for Young People

Abington School District again – for the fifth time – achieved national recognition on October 12, 2011 when America’s Promise Alliance announced via a live webcast from Washington D.C. that it was a 100 Best Communities for Young People winner.  The competition recognizes communities across the country that focus on increasing high school completion rates and providing service and support to their youth. 

As a fifth-time 100 Best Communities for Young People winner, Abington School District is committed to making youth a priority. Abington School District continues to provide ways for students to prepare for post-graduate goals. All Abington young people have access to college preparatory or honors/advanced placement classes, as well as a range of leadership opportunities, such as the Superintendent’s Committees, Abington Human Relations Advisory Council and Teen Council which give young people a voice in community decisions. Students are also actively involved outside of the classroom, with programs like the H20 For Life Club, which helps raise awareness and develop solutions for the global water crisis. The community also came together to raise $100,000 to support youth programs, and the Abington YMCA exceeded its goal for its Strong Kids Campaign, which helps underserved families gain access to YMCA child care and camp programs.

 “We are very proud of Abington School District for being named one of the America’s Promise Alliance’s 100 Best for the fifth time,” said Dr. Amy F. Sichel, Superintendent of Abington School District.   “This award recognizes the hard work of many community members that have dedicated their time to making a difference in the lives of our young people.”

 “In a nation where 7,000 students drop out of high school every day, we hope Abington School District’s initiatives inspire other communities across the nation to take action to solve the challenges facing their young people,” said Marguerite W. Kondracke, America’s Promise Alliance president and CEO.  “Abington School District is especially deserving of this recognition due to their efforts to ensure that their young people graduate high school and go on to lead healthy, productive lives. Abington School District refuses to let the challenges they face determine the future for their young people. Instead, they are helping their youth prosper and become contributing members of society.”

Kondracke joined America’s Promise Alliance Chair Alma Powell and ING Foundation President Rhonda Mims at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., to officially announce the 100 winning communities in a live webcast that was viewed in Abington with students, staff, and local leaders from government, business, and human services.  In addition, Abington was invited to be one of only four winners in the US  to participate two-way live in the webcast via Skype from Abington where Dr. Amy Sichel spoke about the Abington School District win. 

Abington was named one of the nation’s 100 Best because of its proven dedication to preparing youth for graduation, college and careers -- because of its priorities, innovation, creativity, and successes in programs for youth, which include: 

• The Abington Community Taskforce (ACT), which has developed one-on-one partnerships and community-wide collaborations among schools, community agencies, businesses, and nonprofits in order to develop  research-based efforts to create an environment with safe schools and a safe, involved community supporting young people.

•  A comprehensive plan for addressing the needs of youth in the community including the school district’s strategic plan and initiatives, parental involvement strategies, anti-bullying and conflict resolution programs in our schools with training for staff and students, a Health and Wellness Policy with an emphasis on enrolling eligible children in the Pennsylvania State Children’s Health Insurance Program (PaChip), and extensive needs assessments via formal research as a Pennsylvania Community That Cares participant.

• The school district’s Opportunities to Learn initiative, which has achieved excellent results in offering a college preparatory education for all Abington students.

• Abington Senior High School’s high graduation rate – 95% -- and the high level colleges and universities Abington students gain admission to, accompanied by millions of dollars in scholarships granted Abington students each year.

• Cultivation and support of youth leadership – giving youth a voice and support in the community.

• Service learning opportunities that help others – over 90,000 hours are typically contributed to the community each year by Abington School District students.

• The school district’s extensive, innovative partnerships for youth with Abington Police Department and other community organizations.

Dr. Amy  Sichel commented, “It is truly an exceptional accomplishment, shared by our schools and community, to be recognized for the fifth year in a row – in every year the competition has been held by America’s Promise.   We are extraordinarily pleased that our visions and the extensive work to accomplish these visions in our schools and community have ranked us as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People in the United States.   Together with our extraordinary partners in the Abington Township Police Department, the Abington Township staff, with our business partners and solid support from many human service agencies, we feel that what we have been doing has been very effective;  it is extremely gratifying to receive reinforcement of our work by a prestigious, youth-oriented organization such as America’s Promise.  This award speaks well of the adults and youth in the many organizations, businesses, and schools who are committed to making Abington the amazing community that it is.”

First held in 2005, the 100 Best competition is one of the Alliance’s signature initiatives and is part of its Grad Nation campaign, which is a 10-year initiative to mobilize Americans to end the high school dropout crisis and prepare young people for college and the 21^st century workforce.  The 100 Best honors communities large and small, rural and urban, that are making progress to help young people achieve their potential, which includes earning a high school diploma, securing a good job, and playing an active, productive role in America’s economic vitality.

All communities entering the 100 Best competition completed a rigorous application where they provided details on how their existing programs and initiatives help deliver the Five Promises—resources identified by the Alliance as being critical to the development of healthy, successful children: caring adults; safe places; healthy start; effective education; and opportunities to help others. Applicants were also asked to describe how different sectors of their community work together to help children and families overcome challenges. Most importantly, communities were judged on the strength and innovation of their efforts and programs to help young people graduate from high school prepared for college and the 21^st century workforce.

This year, more than 300 communities from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico were nominated for the 100 Best distinction.  Winners were chosen by a distinguished panel of 20 judges that included: Marc Morial, president and CEO, National Urban League, Roxanne Spillett, president and CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Michelle Shearer, Chemistry Teacher, Urbana High School, 2011 National Teacher of the Year.

Being a 100 Best community not only demonstrates commitment to local young people; the award fosters local pride, bolsters economic development and shines the spotlight on the people and programs that are building better communities. The competition also facilitates the sharing of best practices among communities nationwide regarding education, access to health care, reading score improvement, youth service and pre-school enrollment, among many other areas.

About America’s Promise Alliance
America’s Promise Alliance is the nation’s largest partnership organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth by raising awareness, supporting communities, and engaging in nonpartisan advocacy. Through our Grad Nation campaign, we harness the collective power of our partner network to mobilize Americans to end the high school dropout crisis and prepare young people for college and the 21^st century workforce.  Building on the legacy of our Founding Chairman General Colin Powell, the Alliance believes the success of our young people is grounded in the Five Promises—caring adults; safe places; a healthy start; an effective education; and opportunities to help others.  For more information about America’s Promise Alliance, visit www.americaspromise.org.