Five Ways Ed Pays Campaign Pilot Rolls Out in the Houston Independent School District

On May 4, 2011, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center rolled out a new college awareness campaign to promote the value of a higher education. As part of the campaign effort, the College Board purchased ads on 50 HISD buses. The educational effort is the first ad campaign to appear on HISD buses. Buses with the ads were on display for the announcement.

HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said, “Our students need to see what the research shows about the difference a college degree will make in their lives. It’s one thing to tell them, but it just carries more weight when you have the data to back that up.”

Watch a video of the press conference.

HISD is the first district in the country to partner with the College Board in this pilot campaign. It is called “Five Ways Ed Pays” and focuses on five personal and societal benefits of people with a 4-year college degree, including:

Better Health – Individualsages 25 to 34 with a 4-year college degree are 70% more likely to engage in vigorous exercise than those with only a high school diploma.

Closer Family – Parents with 4-year college degrees are 68% more likely to have attended a concert or live show with their children than parents with only a high school diploma.

Greater Wealth – Individuals with a 4-year college degree earn an average of $22,000 more per year than those with only a high school diploma.

More Security – Individuals with only a high school diploma are about twice as likely to be unemployed as those with a 4-year college degree.

Stronger Community – Individuals ages 18 to 24 with a 4-year college degree were 75% more likely to vote in the 2008 election than those with only a high school diploma.

The information will be disseminated to nearly 80,000 middle and high school students in HISD students through ads, posters, brochures and high school counselors.

This college awareness campaign is based on Education Pays 2010, one in a series of college affordability and financial aid reports issued by the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center to spotlight the current state of education in the U.S. and to demonstrate the importance and benefits of college readiness, access and completion.