“Every 26 seconds in America, a student drops out of high school,” Ed Rust, the CEO of State Farm, said. This statistic is the basis of the name for the recently launched State Farm program “26 Seconds.” In the latest Brand Innovator Spotlight, Rust describes to Brandon Gutman how State Farm’s campaign is helping the nation to keep kids in school.
About the Campaign
With the tagline, “BMOR,” 26 Seconds encourages students to make graduation a priority so they become more than a statistic. While the program will use interests like music, sports, and video to engage young people, it will also provide an online venue through which youth can interact, sharing feelings, thoughts, and talents in a creative way.
LeBron James and Alma and Colin Powell with America’s Promise Alliance are involved in 26 Seconds. State Farm employees and agents are involved as mentors to young people.
“We’re also providing some scholarships for students not traditionally eligible for many scholarship programs. They can be used for college or technical or vocational school tuition,” said Rust.
Why Encouraging Kids to Stay in School Is Important
“A high school dropout is 8X more likely to be incarcerated than a high school grad, and 3X more likely to be unemployed than a college grad,” according to Rust.
Unfortunately, kids most at risk of dropping out do not realize the potential impact on their future. And there’s a number of problems which put kids at risk, such as grown-up responsibilities, frequent moves, and homelessness.
High dropout rates affect the country as a whole, according to Rust.
“In the plainest possible language, it’s about this country having a workforce of individuals who have or who can acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to support our standard of living. Many other countries are doing a far better job of educating and training their young people. The dropout crisis has a direct connection to future earnings, to jobs created, to future home and car sales and to government budgets, including tax revenue,” Rust said.
What’s Next?
Through State Farm’s continued focus on education with programs like 26 Seconds, the brand hopes to increase the high school graduation rate to 90% by 2020. Other involvement will include helping to implement newly reauthorized federal education legislation, to helping sustain the momentum behind the Common Core Standards effort to assure that every state holds students accountable for competitive standards of learning.
What other ways can brands help in education reform? Comment below.
