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Panel Detail:

Monday, April 28, 2008
4:00 PM - 5:15 PM

Reducing the "Risk" in At-Risk Youth: The Economic Benefits of Early Prevention

Moderator:

Neil Eckert, Chief Executive, Climate Exchange PLC

Arthur Rolnick of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis joins fellow panelists in advocating for greater investment in early childhood education and development programs.

Four longitudinal studies have shown tangible economic benefits from investing in early childhood care and education, running from an 8 percent to a 20 percent internal rate of return, depending on the quality of the early childhood program. Arthur Rolnick of the Federal Reserve Bank told how these enviable returns have captured the attention of CEOs, causing many of them to become actively involved as champions of early childhood spending.

Moderator Neil Eckert of Climate Exchange PLC turned to tennis legend Andre Agassi and asked him to recount his experience in offering educational opportunities for at-risk youth in Las Vegas. Agassi prefaced his remarks with a simple statement, "If we say we care, then it's real simple: We have to act." He continued, "You can always find people who will say it cannot be done."

Agassi and fellow panelist Elaine Wynn, the national chair of Communities-in-Schools, hail from Nevada, the state with the nation's highest dropout rate, and both are determined advocates for education reform. Agassi shared stories of his college prep academy, a public charter school that raises hopes and expectations in one of the most challenged neighborhoods of Las Vegas.

He compared the hard work of a quality education to his success as a professional athlete. "There are no shortcuts in education. Just like in tennis, if you want to be good, you have to spend the time," said Agassi. Students at his charter school have eight-hour school days, resulting in 16 years of total schooling compared to the traditional 12 years. He summed up his philosophy on teachers: "No teacher tenure. If you're good, you stay; if not, you're fired." His school now has a seven-year record of academic success and Agassi has a statement to make nationally. He intends to continue his work to halt the downward spiral of students at risk through quality education.

Elaine Wynn reiterated Agassi's urgent commitment by stating, "Let's just stipulate that it's much more expensive to ignore these issues." Wynn's work has grown from Nevada to the national level. She elaborated on the dire state of education in Nevada, where "we lead with all the wrong statistics. One third of our kids drop out and half of those are ethnic and minorities." Her work in Nevada with multiple government and private agencies led to her current focus on a single point of service delivery. Although there are multiple support programs for students in need, Wynn questioned the feasibility and functionality of these initiatives. "We expect the children who are least capable to be program specialists, which makes no sense." The best place to get services delivered to children in need is in schools. She is currently working on legislation for integrated services in Washington, D.C., and raising more state money to improve schools in Nevada.

Panel members nodded as Wynn stated, "Programs don't save people. People save people. In the absence of the humane, which is the key aspect of the word 'humanitarian,' many people most at risk will not make it."

Carlos Bremer of Value Grupo Financiero told stories of mobilizing the humanitarian capacity of virtually the combined professional athletic teams of Mexico to help children. Eckert asked Bremer how one individual managed to rally such extensive support for this cause. Bremer replied that he observed the myriad problems of poor Mexican schoolchildren, including the prevalence of drugs in public schools; he also noted many empty seats at professional sporting events simply because most poor people cannot afford to attend. Bremer set up a program to reward students in grades 3 through 9 with tickets to sporting events if they achieve good academic results. Then he called on professional basketball, baseball and soccer teams, ultimately getting 70 of the nation's 76 pro sports teams to donate seats. Nationally, 2 million Mexican children take math, science and Spanish tests annually — and 1.5 million seats have been made available to those who do well.

Though his program is now a national campaign, Bremer's modesty was apparent when he was asked how he had done all this. He shrugged and said, "You just need a good idea. Share it, and others will help."

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