Implementing Success Programs for High School Drop Outs

Growing up, I was a minority in a lot of ways - I was one of my few friends that had white skin, my parents were relatively 'well -to-do' (at least in comparison to friends families who could barely afford rent or dinner at the table), and because of my parents economic status, unlike my friends, I was able to participate in a wide range of activities, etc. However, come high school I found myself in a position that related me to the majority 62% of kids in Baltimore City - I dropped out.

Baltimore City is just one of a number of cities that experiences an extremely low graduation rate - right now hovering at just barely 38 % (Toppo, 2008). This is a very serious situation that not only these cities are facing, but our country is facing. It is also something that concerns you, an individual, as well. Whether you graduated with your PhD from Harvard is not a concern - you are still paying the price for one of your neighbors dropping out. Not only do high school drop outs earn substantially less than those who graduate high school - they also are leading in numbers for being on welfare, being unemployed, and being homeless. High school dropouts are 8 times more likely to be incarcerated. All of these problems turn back to where your hard earned tax money is being spent to provide for these people.[HD1]

Currently in the United States, approximately 30% of students do not finish their high school education, with numbers reaching the high fiftieth percentile for black and Hispanic students (Pluvoise, 2007). And while there is a multitude of state and federally budgeted programs to try and prevent students from dropping out - once the students have withdrawn, there are no programs to help them. This leads to a tragic situation that affects not only the dropout, but the nation as a whole. High school dropouts on average earn near $10,000 less than a typical high school graduate. Dropouts are more likely to have frequent time periods of unemployment, are more likely to be welfare dependent, and are more likely to cycle in and out of the prison system (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2007, p.2). As the Alliance for Excellent Education stated in their October 2007 Issue Brief:

"Everyone benefits from increased graduation rates. The graduates themselves, on average, will earn higher wages and enjoy more comfortable and secure lifestyles. At the same time, the nation benefits from their increased purchasing power, collects higher tax receipts, and sees higher levels of worker productivity."

The United States is paying a substantial amount of money for the failed success of dropouts - costs that could be reduced if we implemented a success program for high school drop outs - one that guided them in the direction that would lead to a better outcome for them personally. [HD2]

If we calculate the estimated annual life income of a high school dropout, it is typically $260,000 less than a high school graduate (Rouse, 2008). [HD3] In addition to income, we must take into account the financial burden that dropouts add by being welfare dependent, living in prison systems, etc.

The University of California - Santa Barbara conducted a study, and found that each year dropouts cost the state of California approximately $9.5 billion dollars -"$3.1 billion in lost state and local tax revenues, $3.5 billion in health expenditures, $2.5 billion in crime expenditures, and $400 million in welfare expenditures" (Belfield et.al. 2007). This billion dollar financial loss is just for one state of 50. As the study also explained, if the dropout rate was reduced by 30% for one year, it would result in a state government savings of $1.9 billion, and would provide a $13.9 billion dollar gain (Belfield et.al. 2007).[HD4]

Additional to the economic benefits of high school graduates over dropouts, graduates live longer (Muennig, 2005), are less likely to be teen parents (Haveman et al., 2001), less likely to commit crime (Raphael, 2004), less likely to rely on welfare programs such as food stamps or housing assistance (Garfinkel et al., 2005), and graduates are more likely to be civically engaged than dropouts (Junn, 2005).

While it is essential to have programs available to help prevent students from dropping out, it is just as essential if not more, to have programs available to assist those who do dropout. As Frances Deviney, PhD stated in his 2008 research on Texas high school dropouts:

"Dropping out of school is not a sudden decision, but a gradual process where the student slowly becomes disengaged from academic life. The process of dropping out of school begins months or even years before the student stops attending school altogether."

What this means is, the majority of students that are dropping out of high school, are [HD5] not dropping out on a whim. They are dropping out after a long period of thought - sometimes years. And as research has shown, students are not dropping out because they are merely lazy - students drop out for various reasons, predominantly because of financial burden and hardship at home (Deviney, 2008). Additionally as Deviney states, students are dropping out because classes were too boring (47%), they have missed too many days to catch up (43%) - perhaps from being forced to work, illnesses, etc; they were failing (35%) - which could also be a result from missing classes due to various reasons or not having the time to study at home. It is important to know why and when students are dropping out, because such data can be incorporated when a success program for high school dropouts is created. If the reason for dropout was because of a financial burden at home, and the dropout must work during the day - having a program that is only set up from 9to5pm would not be beneficial for the large number of dropouts who must work.

Each and every state has some form of high school dropout prevention program - whether it be by requiring teachers to have higher credentials (Deviney, 2008) to help enable them to working with a multitude of students, implementing alternative schools where students with unusual life circumstances (pregnancy, financial burden, etc) may attend, or guidance counselors who provide information to motivate students to stay in school. However, the reality is, while prevention programs may lead to less students dropping out of high school, there will still be cases where a student feels that they either they want to drop out or that they 'must' drop out. By working together with those prevention programs, we can take those who do end up dropping out of high school, and help them.

The idea would be that this program would be presented to the student at the time of his or her official withdrawal. It would be one possible option given to students who feel that dropping out was the necessarily choice - regardless of why. An actual physical location could be opened in areas where dropout rates are the highest, such as in urban cities like Baltimore, Detroit, New York City, etc. (Toppo, 2006). In areas where dropout rates are not as high or enough funding is not available, a website with resources and professional volunteers who would act as guiders could be created.

Each center or website would be locally implemented so that information was useful and beneficial to the individual microscopically, with additional information available on outside area or national options. The centers could include GED testing preparation, GED test funding scholarships, GED testing sign up, information on night and adult high school programs (and enrollment opportunities), enrollment and scholarship information for local area community colleges and other such schools including technical schools, culinary schools, life skills courses, etc. Additionally the program could include job placement assistance (or at least reference local businesses that are hiring and willing to work with individuals who do not have their high school degree) and information on military enrollment (as the military provides job stability and life enhancement for those with just a GED). Depending on how readily resources and funding are available to this program (whether it is a private/non-profit or a publically/state or federally funded organization), therapists and/or life skills coaches could be available, who could provide counsel on things that are preventing the dropout from succeeding (personal, environmental, societal, etc), techniques on how to build and/or enhance self-esteem, studying techniques, etc. Lastly, tutors could be present to help the dropouts prepare for their GED testing. The field of what is possible for such a program is diverse and broad, and could vary area by area depending on what is seen as most beneficial, and what is seen as most needed.

What is provided is not as essential, as providing something. While the hope would be that funding would allow implementing what is most successful - as it goes, something is better than nothing. And currently, dropouts are getting nothing. Research would need to be conducted to facilitate findings necessary to support such a program. Research could study what percent of dropouts actually take advantage of the program, the cost-benefit analysis; how much is the program costing the state/federal government vs. how much it is saving the government by lessening crime rates, welfare dependency, and various other economical data as presented earlier.

Without proper research and funding, it is impossible to know what is necessarily for a successful program in hopes of helping those students who have already dropped out. Further, it is impossible to know how beneficial such a program would be for dropouts. And since no such program has, or ever has existed - nor is there any research (readily available) on guidance and help for students who have already dropped out - it makes creating such a notion a hard concept to create. Relying heavily upon research based on the comparison of high school dropouts vs. high school graduates (and beyond), conclusions were made, assumed, and hypothesized.

The reality is that there can be successful solutions for high school drop outs if we just give them an opportunity - and we provide a belief. I believed enough in me that I chose to make something of my life. I received my GED, am finishing my final semester of my undergraduate degree and am about to enter graduate school. However, when so many people have been conditioned to think that they weren't supposed to amount to more or that more is simply not possible for them - it is obvious to see why they are becoming what we see so many high school dropouts become. It is necessarily to provide options and opportunities for all individuals - not just those who prove most successful because they are encouraged to be. We must encourage and support all to be the best possible individuals they are capable of being - not just ignoring someone and letting them slip into a cycle of poverty or crime because they are a high school dropout.

As a high school dropout who later went back to earn his GED once said, "In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure." (Bill Cosby). Let's provide a way for high school dropouts to strengthen their desires for success...

Works Cited

Bloom, D. (2009). Reengaging high school dropouts: Early results of the national guard youth challenge program evaluation. full report. MDRC. 16 East 34th Street 19th Floor, New York, NY 10016-4326. Tel: 212-532-3200; Fax: 212-684-0832; e-mail: publications@mdrc.org; Web site: http://www.mdrc.org.

Clark, W. (1997, Spring97). School leavers revisited. Canadian Social Trends, Retrieved July 8, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

Cohen, M. (1998, March). The Monetary Value of Saving a High-Risk Youth. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 14(1), 5-33. Retrieved July 20, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

Conner, E. (2008). Drop-out challenges: Pathways to success. Principal Leadership; Middle Level ed, 9(3), 38-43.

Hartnagel, T., & Krahn, H. (1989, June). HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS, LABOR MARKET SUCCESS, AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR. Youth & Society, 20(4), 416. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

Lee, T. (2007). Young people. Journal of community & applied social psychology, 17(5), 329-346.

Miller, C. (2007). Barriers to employment among out-of-school youth. Children and Youth Services Review, 29(5), 572-587.

Ou, S. (2008). Do ged recipients differ from graduates and school dropouts?: Findings from an inner-city cohort. Urban education, 43(1), 83-117.

Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry handbook linked to drug industry. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

Patterson, J A. (2008). Cultural contradictions and school leaving: A case study of an urban high school. The High School Journal, 91(2), 1-15.

Pluvoise, David. (2007,February 9). Halving High School Dropout Rate Could Save U.S. $45 Billion Annually, Study Shows. Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Retrieved July 3, 2009 from http://www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_6993.shtml

Strom, R E. (2007). Dropping out of high school: A meta-analysis assessing the effect of messages in the home and in school. Communication education, 56(4), 433-452.

Suh, S. (2007). Risk factors and levels of risk for high school dropouts. Professional School Counseling, 10(3), 297-306.

Toppo, Greg. (2006, June 20). Big-city schools struggle with graduation rates. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-06-20-dropout-rates_x.htm

Warren, J R. (2007). Is the glass emptying or filling up? reconciling divergent trends in high school completion and dropout. Educational Researcher, 36(6), 335-343.

[HD1]Excellent appeal to your audience-why they should care

[HD2]The structure of this sentence is confusing. The two long dashes create too many breaks between ideas. Also, the way they line up on the page makes it seem as if you're writing a list.

[HD3]Does this take into account any schooling a high school graduate adds on top of high school diploma? Or are these high school graduates with no further education?

[HD4]Excellent statistical support

[HD5]No line necessary between block quote and regular text