What to Do About Dropouts

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%. 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.

I'm sure many of you are wondering "Why does this matter, I live in happy valley Utah, my kids would never drop out..." However the predicted outlook for dropout rates in the future is only getting higher. With the teacher to student ratio drastically increasing, budgets are being cut, programs being depleted - while happy valley, Utah's rates may not ever be as high as 62% - they will rise.

There are students every day who drop out that have been raised in a 'good home' with 'involved parents' and 'a good support system'. Students don't just drop out because they are lazy. Some students drop out because they are bored - they feel as though high school is a waste of time. Many students drop out because they are forced to help their families financially or because their learning disabilities or mental disorders prevent them from being able to function in a school setting. There is a multitude of reasons why a student drops out. However, instead of focusing on how to prevent an increasing dropout rate,let me instead ask that you join with me in the fight for helping these students who are dropping out . Utah currently has no public funded guidance, programs or resources for dropouts. However, by adding such an idea - even if it was as limited as providing contact information for local night adult schools, aiding in the cost of the General Equivalency Exam (GED), or giving pamphlets about the local community college -while dropout rates may not decrease, I argue that the success of dropouts will increase.

There are many famous and successful people who dropped out of high school, many of whom later returned to get their GED and go on to college - Mike Mansfield and Ben Nighthourse Campell both dropped out of high school and later went on to become U.S. Senators. Eight of the US presidents were high school dropouts, as well as 10 Nobel Prize winners, 11 Nobel Prize nominees, 14 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, etc. I also recognize that not every drop out simply because they are handed a pamphlet on college, are going to further their education, let alone become a Nobel Prize winner. But why not try? London has established a program that allows 16 & 17 year olds who have dropped out, to attend a local college free. Texas has built interactive and 'hip' websites intended to motivate dropouts to get their GEDs and continue their education, as well an extensive host of other resources. Vermont has implemented a mandatory resource informational interview at the time of withdrawal of a student. All of these programs have proved both beneficial and successful for high school dropouts.

If we are so concerned with the overcrowding of prisons, the increasing number of people on welfare, the vastly increasing number of homeless people in our community, all of which dropout statistics in Utah support- why are we not trying to prevent a significant cause of the problem? Knowing that regardless of educator intervention, some students will still drop out, why not provide resources for those individuals? Those presidents, senators and Nobel Prize winners that dropped out all received encouragement and belief from someone that helped them go back to school - what if these students have no one that believes in them? Why can't we create a program that can be that believer and guider for those students.

Oh, and for what it's worth --- of the fellow peers that I personally knew that dropped out of high school, I am one of 10 who received their GED, one of 4 who will receive a college or university diploma and the only who have intentions of attending graduate school. I don't want be a statistical exception; I want to be the norm.