This is not just a "City of Grand Rapids" problem.

When we say Grand Rapids we mean everyone, not just Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) students. The challenges faced by GRPS students affect all of us—the community as a whole.

This is a community-wide problem that requires a community-wide solution.

Too many of the 20,000 GRPS students leave high school unprepared to work in entry level jobs, unprepared for post-secondary education and unprepared for the high-tech, high-paying jobs that are being created in the health-care and technology sectors.

The impact of this situation on the greater Grand Rapids community is grim.

Low-achieving students who lack the skills, structure or opportunity to obtain a post-secondary education threaten the entire community's economic and social well-being.

Unskilled workers who earn lower wages and whose circumstances are more precarious are often a drain on a community's social and human service resources. Personal spending power is limited. Home-ownership rates diminish. New businesses and industries are not attracted to the Grand Rapids area because of a narrow talent pool.

The implications are far-reaching and long lasting--for all of us.