Area's future riding on new effort

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - If students at Dayton's Early College Academy or DECA ever forget why they're here.

All they have to do is look in the mirror.

"If you don't go to college where are you going to be 10 years from now," says Jaliyah Rivers, a Senior at DECA.

Rivers will be the first in her family to go to college when she graduates from DECA this spring.

It's stories like hers that the new Learn to Earn initiative hopes to duplicate across the area.

"If we don't do things earlier in elementary, middle or high school we're going to lose another generation," says DECA principal Dave Taylor.

About 50 cities across the country already have their own cradle to career initiatives like Learn to Earn.

The idea is to reach kids not only at school..but before they even get there.

"It's about making sure kids are more kindergarten ready," says Learn to Earn's Executive Director Tom Lasley. "It's about making sure our young people are reading proficient in the third grade."

Students who meet those benchmarks are more likely to continue their education after high school, whether it be going to college or learning a skill or trade.

They're also the ones who end up with the good jobs.

"If you don't have enough intellectual skills, if you don't have any specialized skills it's very difficult for you to earn a living wage for your working life," Lasley says.

Those at Learn to Earn say it will take a number of programs to get a more educated Miami Valley.

DECA is just one example. Eighty-four percent of the school's students finish college.

You can see the proof in the pictures of successful grads covering the walls and in the hopes of those who want to join them.

"It's something to live up to," Rivers says.

To learn more about Learn to Earn click here .