Community Partner Spotlight: Go On Idaho

The “Go On Idaho” campaign was launched in 2009 by the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation to raise awareness of alarming trends in the state of education in Idaho and to help reverse those trends. The campaign uses a variety of methods, including: adopting and implementing common core standards, expanding advanced opportunities (such as AP and dual credit courses) on high school campuses, and helping students get the best return on the investment of time and tuition.

The Go On campaign has already seen success. Since its launch, over 7,000 Idaho students have pledged to "go on" to college. Additionally, 20 schools from around the state were awarded the title of “Go On Schools” for the 2013-2014 school year. The award is given out to schools that exemplify the “Go On” spirit.

The Idaho Youth Ranch is proud to be partnered with Go On Idaho, which helped IYR launch its newest program: YOUTHWORKS! in March, 2013. YOUTHWORKS!  gives young adults valuable work and career experience while also increasing their chances for success in post-secondary education, vocational training, or certification programs. 

And Idaho kids need all the help we can give them:

• Idaho ranks 47th in the percentage of students, aged 18-24, enrolled in college.
• Idaho ranks 46th in the number of students going directly from high school to college.

And the need for a level of higher education in Idaho is only increasing:

• The Idaho Dept. of Labor and Georgetown University Center for Education and the Workforce estimate that two out of every three new jobs in Idaho will require an education level higher than high school.

Additionally, workers with a college degree or some college education make more money than their high-school-only peers:

• For every year of education beyond high school, a worker’s wages increase by 10-20%.
• Idaho students with a college degree can expect to make double that of students with only a high school education.

YOUTHWORKS! is designed to give at-risk young Idahoans the best possible opportunities for productive lives and careers, setting them up for more promising futures than they ever believed possible.