LEARN MORE NOW. DO MORE NOW. EARN MORE LATER.

The business community has created this website to help your child get ready for the future, whether he goes to college or directly to the workplace.

Many new jobs will be created as technology changes society. We will need thousands of qualified workers to fill these new positions. But 84% of these available jobs will require some level of college education. Even jobs that will not need a college degree will require more knowledge and skills than ever before.

Suppose your child wants to be an automotive mechanic. Do you know that most new cars have complex computer technologies built into their systems? Auto mechanics have to understand a great deal of science and mathematics. Repair manuals are written at a reading level equal to that of a junior in college. So if your child wants to fix cars for a living after high school, he or she will need to read, do math, and understand science at the same level as college-bound youngsters.

Whatever field your child selects, he will need to use his mind to solve complex problems every day. The global economy has placed a great deal of pressure on American business. Demanding courses like Algebra and Physics will teach your child the critical thinking skills he needs. Challenging courses, especially in mathematics, build the mind like exercise builds the body. In fact, research shows that this sequence of courses provides the best foundation for any future your child chooses:

• Algebra I, II and Geometry
• Biology, Chemistry, Physics
• Four years of college-prep English
• Two years of the same foreign language
• Three years of Social Studies
• One semester of Economics

In fact, research also indicates that completing challenging mathematics courses is the most direct path to success. And it’s not the math! It’s what math does to the mind!

So even if your child is not going to college, challenging courses will help him do better in the workplace, too. Research shows that students who complete rigorous courses in high school can earn up to 13% more as adult workers even if they don’t go to college because they have the language and mathematics skills employers need. Students who complete demanding courses in high school earn higher scores on college admissions tests and are better prepared for college.

And that’s good, because college is very competitive. Your child will have to work hard to get into college and will have to work even harder to graduate. But college is definitely worth the effort. Completing college can increase lifetime earnings by a million dollars!

College is also expensive. Making sure that your child has the academic foundation to succeed in college can keep those expenses down. High school students who do not complete challenging academic courses rarely finish college in four years, and college graduation rates reflect the fact that most students are not academically prepared – only 50% of students earn a degree after SIX years of college. Are you financially prepared for six years of tuition payments?

If your child wants to go to college but you cannot afford the expense, there are many ways to cover costs. There are scholarships, grants, and low-interest loans. Many employers will pay for your child to get an education.

Whatever the future holds for your child, the best thing you can do for him is to make sure he completes demanding courses in high school. Sure, that won’t be easy. It will be worth it – but academic knowledge is not enough to get or keep a good job.

Your child’s future employers will also expect him to be present and punctual every day and have a high degree of proficiency in common business computer software. And employers may not hire a young adult who has a high level of debt, so your child will need to successfully manage his finances.

The LearnDoEarn website helps your child understand what he needs to do as a middle and high school student to prepare for all the challenges ahead. Five programs offer your child the opportunity to earn credentials that will help him Learn More Now and Do More Now, so he can Earn More Later:

• World Class Students encourages your child to complete the set of rigorous courses (listed above) that will serve him best whether he goes to college or to work. Your child can view the presentations in which virtual business people share important information with him, and he can learn more about what colleges expect and how to pay for a degree. If he completes these courses, your school can award him the World Class Student credential. Only your child’s school can award the World Class Student credential.
  
  
• School Counts helps your child understand the importance of developing a professional-level work ethic, with a focus on attendance and punctuality. He will also hear from virtual business people who will share how to get and keep a job and write his first resume. If your child maintains a 95% attendance and punctuality rate, and meets a few other criteria, he can earn the School Counts credential. Only your child’s school can award the School Counts credential.
  
  
• The Technology Challenge assesses and improves your child’s ability to use common business software like word processing and spreadsheets. Over 750 questions for students in grades 7 through 12 build your child’s computer skills. At the end of every 20-question exercise, the Technology Challenge prints out a credential documenting your child’s progress in learning how to use a computer in the business world. While most students earn their Technology Challenge credential through their schools, individual students can take the Technology Challenge independently. The Technology Challenge is the single LearnDoEarn program that is not free. Individual licenses to the Technology Challenge can be purchased. Call the LearnDoEarn helpline for more information.
  
  
• Work the Money helps your child understand that every decision is a financial decision. He will learn how some decisions can limit employment opportunities and about the four rules that should govern his financial life. After reviewing the presentations and completing all the Work the Money assessments, your child can earn the Work the Money credential. Only your child’s school can award the Work the Money credential.
  
  
• The Math Challenge ensures that your child can do the math and that the math courses he has completed have truly prepared him for the work he will need to do in college and beyond. The Math Challenge generates a credential that details your child’s strengths and weaknesses in high demand math that his teacher can use to help him improve his skills.

As a parent, there are many other things you can do to ensure your child’s success. Make sure your child:

• Completes all homework assignments,
• Reads several books related to his studies every month,
• Gets a good night’s sleep and maintains healthy eating habits, especially at breakfast,
• Gets to school on time every day, and
• Watches no more than one hour of television every night.

American businesses, our employees, and you as citizens of this country pay billions of dollars in taxes every year. Many of those tax dollars are used to support public education. In some areas of the country, the cost to put a child through high school can be as high as $12,000 per year. That’s $48,000 taxpayers invest in your child from the time he is a freshman in high school to the time he graduates as a senior. Make sure he uses that time as effectively as possible.

Remember, if you help your child learn more now, and do more now, he will earn more later. Help your child get ready for college, ready for work, ready for life. Make sure your child’s school is part of the national LearnDoEarn network, too! Keep learning more – register yourself and your child to get the LearnDoEarn emails and newsletters.