Dropouts: Yesterday and Today

The Associated Press recently released a report identifying "Dropout Factories"; high schools where less than 60% of the freshmen that enter, graduate in four years. The truth of the matter is dropout rates have maintained or even declined over the past several decades. This has not been accidental; state and local education agencies have made a concerted effort over the past twenty years to identify potential dropouts and provide them with resources to help them succeed. So why are we concerned?

Today, when a student walks out without a diploma, it is an indication of not only their failure but also our failure to instill in them the inspiration, motivation and perseverance required to complete rigorous studies. It is also an indication of the lack of emphasis local society places on a high school diploma. Thirty years ago a dropout had many opportunities to enter the workforce in jobs that required minimal skills and paid a living wage. A dropout today faces a job market that requires a worker to be highly skilled, able to work in teams, solve problems, and be highly productive. Today's dropout is almost guaranteed to live at or below the poverty level, requiring social services and public assistance.

Why do students drop out? At some point in time expectations for that child were lowered. Sometimes parents tell me: "I didn't need a diploma". Often times when students meet with difficulties, the path of least resistance is the path the student chooses- unless someone encourages another route. I spoke in an earlier article about the importance of community and faith-based organizations in our children's lives. If a family, a school, and a community will have high expectations then that child is almost assured of success.

The schools have a primary responsibility, however, to cultivate the expectation to succeed. There are obvious things that we as educators do to help. Each high school and feeder school has a Dropout Prevention Coordinator who identifies students "at risk" of dropping out of school. The Coordinators make home visits whenever a student has a substantial number of absences

We have social workers and school psychologists who help us identify difficult personal or environmental situations that often contribute to dropping out. We have an enforceable truancy policy and students are notified in writing when 3, 6 and 10 absences have been verified. We also have caring, dedicated guidance counselors who develop personal relationships with the students and continue to be our first line of defense in the war against dropouts.
In addition, we also prevent dropouts in other ways. Our athletic programs continue to expand in both middle and high school. This is crucial to many of our students because sports can keep them interested in academics, and our committed coaches provide constant counseling and motivation to all players on the "bubble". Our arts education programs and career/technical education programs provide students with motivating study and real world skills. Our JROTC programs provide discipline and leadership. If a child is actively involved and feels connected, the greater the likelihood that he/she will stay in school. By developing varied and interesting course offerings, and expanding extra-curricular opportunities, we hope that every student feels a sense of belonging at school.

Our schools are not “Drop out Factories”. There are not students streaming out of our schools without diplomas. But let’s ignore the numbers about dropouts, except for one and zero. If even one child fails to graduate, then society suffers and it will only be when the dropout rate is zero that we have had success. Until that happens we will continue to ensure that each child has every possible opportunity to graduate.