Singer Has More Than Dancing On His Mind

 WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - Romeo Miller is ready to show off his skills on the dance floor. Like father like son… Romeo’s father Music Mogul, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist, Percy Miller (Master P), Romeo has joined the cast of Dancing With the Stars. Both father and son are from humble beginnings and understand the importance of education. Romeo and Master P are making history by being the first father and son to appear on the show. Master P was one of the biggest celebrities to participate as a contestant during season two and Romeo, founder of College Boyys Clothing and No Limit Forever Record’s president is a contestant in season twelve.

Although Romeo plans to compete against his fellow celebs on the show, his ultimate goal is to use it as a platform to bring awareness to the epidemic of our high school dropout rate in America. Over one million students drop out every year. Three out of every 10 students in U.S. public schools still fail to finish high school with a diploma. Students from low-income families are 2.4 times more likely to become a “drop out” than children of middle-income families, and even 10.5 times likelier than children of high-income families. “This is a great opportunity for me to get the message out that we have to save our children, it is not okay that we have this happening in America. without an education, you choices are limited,” say Miller.

There are extreme social implications as the result of a child dropping out of school and dealing with the stresses and frustrations associated with their choices. Our nation’s prisons and death row inmates are made up of, by a disproportionate percentage, “dropouts” more than 1.2 million students lost from the graduation ceremonies every year, or about 7,000 students lost every day. 55 percent of Latino, 51 percent of African-American, and 50 percent of Native American students finish high school with a diploma. Many teens leave high school not because they can't handle the school work, but because they lack a personal connection to the school and feel disengaged or need to support their family by working.

“Unfortunately, teens lose enormous earning potential by not getting a high school diploma. Dropouts earn $9,200 less per year than high school graduates and more than $1 million less over a lifetime than college graduates. Reducing the dropout rate not only makes sense for individual students, it also makes strong economic sense for the nation,” says Romeo. Cutting the dropout rate in half for just one high school class would result annually in $4.1 billion in additional earnings, 30,000 additional jobs, and $5.3 billion in economic growth. “We have to address this crisis or fall behind as a society these statistics are unacceptable.” continues Miller.

Romeo has sold over 10 million records as a multi-platinum music artist. He has been awarded an American Music Award and a Grammy. Romeo was named in 2010’s Top 5 Sexiest Men in the world. Romeo is not only a Hollywood superstar entertainer but he’s also majoring in Business and Film at the University of Southern California. As a freshman, he and his basketball team made USC history by winning their first PAC 10 Championship. Romeo understands the importance of education; therefore he remains a student at USC while he pursues his entertainment career and business. He’s also co-starring in the upcoming film Jumping the Broom with Angela Bassett. And through this whole process, he will continue his commitment to his foundation, Urban Born.

The 21-year old Romeo Miller will pair up with partner Chelsie Hightower. Although the young entertainer has no formal dance training he welcomes the challenge. DWTS is rounding out a cast that includes Wendy Williams, Chris Jericho, Kendra Wilkinson, Kirstie Alley, and Chelsea Kane.