21st Century Drop Outs

21st Century Drop Outs


Governor Mike Easley has proclaimed September 7th-13th Graduation Awareness Week. In the spirit of this official proclamation, my hope is to make all of us aware of a few issues surrounding graduation.

In my travels throughout the county and state, I have heard parents, grandparents and students make statements about graduation and college. I’d like to share some of these with you, and see exactly where we stand in relationship to those issues in 2008.

Statement: My child doesn’t need a high school diploma, and definitely doesn’t need a college degree- I didn’t.

Just like the cost of food and other items go up, so has the experience necessary to hold even the simplest jobs. This is sometimes referred to as “inflationary education”. Roughly translated, jobs that required no high school diploma twenty years ago now do, those that required no post-secondary training now do, those that once required associate’s degrees now require bachelor’s degree’s etc. A worker with an associate’s degree makes on average $8000 more than one with a high school diploma. This is often the difference between living in poverty and not. I don’t know of a single parent who wishes poverty on their child, yet when we fail to encourage our children or allow them to fall short of their potential, we are setting them up for a very difficult life. The 21st century requires skills that can only be learned through additional education.

Statement: College is too expensive.

This use to be a formidable barrier. Even with the excellent support of our guidance counselors and financial aid officers, getting the money it took to go to college was often unrealistic. If a student was able to get loans or financial aid, after graduation they were left with thousands of dollars of debt. Thanks to the North Carolina Learn and Earn program (http://www.nclearnandearn.gov), students can enroll in college courses and receive up to two years credit while still enrolled in high school- free. NC Learn and Earn also has a grant program which would allow eligible students to finish their final two years free, allowing the student to graduate with a bachelor’s degree and no debt. On average those graduates with a college degree make $22,000 dollars more than students with high school diplomas.

Statement: My child has had some challenges in the traditional school setting. Why should I encourage them to take college classes now?

We are finding that some students participating in online courses actually perform better because it fits their style of learning. Of course we have students that also struggle, but—and this is important—students are much more likely to seek assistance in the high school environment where they have a built in support system and teachers to assist. Many students fail in the college setting because they lack the type of support that they received in high school- they are in many places “on their own”. NC Learn and Earn provides college-level courses in a safe, familiar atmosphere.



Statement: I am a graduating senior and want to stay in Columbus County. Why should I go “above and beyond” just to get my high school diploma. Why not just take a job where I don’t need any additional training?

This is a question I hear often. Many companies will give a higher starting salary with additional studies beyond high school, even if it’s just an hourly wage. The fact that a student takes the initiative to study beyond high school can also set them above the other 1500 recent graduates in the eyes of a prospective employer. Also, one of the obstacles to getting additional companies to locate in Columbus County is our lack of highly skilled workers. If all of our students looked at their education as not stopping until SOME courses were taken post-high school, our local economy would be much better for it.

You’ll note that I have not talked about drop out prevention, or just getting students to graduate. Columbus County Schools has numerous “safety nets” in place from NovaNet credit recovery, to highly trained, caring guidance counselors. We have lowered the drop out rate and are dedicated to doing so in the future. In a way, though, these are hollow victories, because we know that just getting a student through high school has still left the child missing vital skills that could improve the quality of their life.

I want to hold our school system to a higher standard. We need to focus on the “21st Century Drop Out” -the number of students that, despite all the opportunities, fail to receive any training after high school. Their future is as bleak as the traditional drop out’s future was twenty years ago. Join me in reinforcing the importance of advanced education to every child—from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade.

Please visit our website at www.columbus.k12.nc.us and I invite your comments on my blog at drstrickland.blogspot.com.

The Starfish

There is a story that is near and dear to me; I have heard it and told it myself many times- as a matter of fact, I used it at our recent convocation. Many of you know it too. No matter how many times I hear it, this story serves as a lesson to us all about children and education.

There was a man walking along the water at sunset when he came upon a vast stretch of beach where thousands of starfish had washed up during a recent storm. In the distance, the man could see a tiny figure making quick, purposeful movements. As he walked closer he could tell that the person on the beach was a little boy who was picking up the starfish and throwing them back into the water. When the man finally reached the little boy, he asked “What are you doing”. The little boy replied “ I am throwing back these starfish so they can live”. The man replied “Look at all these starfish. You can’t possibly make a difference.” The little boy smiled quietly and threw one of the larger creatures well out over the breaking waves. “It sure made a difference to that one,” he said.

The lesson that this story teaches us is NOT that only some can be saved, but rather if we all work together, we can make a difference in EVERY child’s life- even if it is just one at a time. After the hard work of 2007-2008, we were thrilled to see that our school system has one of the highest percentages of schools making growth under the state’s ABC model in southeastern North Carolina- including Pender, Brunswick and New Hanover counties. I can assure you that a lot of starfish throwing made this happen. Our staff made the commitment to reach every child in a meaningful and engaging way, and the effort paid off handsomely.

Even though we made great strides, our work is not over. It is simply not enough to stop with just some of our students succeeding. This year we have put forth new initiatives that will build upon our past successes.

First, we will put a focus on Instructional Technology. One of the mistakes of the past (and present for that matter) is assuming that sticking technology in the hands of teachers (or students) without any purposeful direction is a recipe for disaster. We will give teachers the training they need to take students “beyond the powerpoint” , allowing students to create content with technology through podcasts, videos and blogs. We don’t want our students to be passive users of technology, but rather active creators using technological tools.

Second, all of our staff will utilize “High Yield Strategies” . These are scientifically proven tactics that are shown to raise achievement, like cooperative learning and consistent reinforcement. The goal is to utilize these strategies in such a way as to facilitate all learning styles.

Third is the development of Professional Learning Communities. Simply put, this is the process of bringing educators together in groups to assist in developing learning strategies for each student. More than just meetings, PLC’s will focus entirely on instruction and will allow all teachers to have input on the most effective ways to reach our students.

Finally, we hope to increase our parent involvement. We have discovered that the most important resource we have as educators is our parents. We need assistance at home and at school- but we strive to give all stakeholders a voice in how our children are educated. We hope to do this not just through PTA meetings and athletic events, but also through community roundtables and honest, one-on-one discussions.

Thank you for your support during the very successful year we had in 2007-2008. This year brings with it a new set up challenges, commitments, hopes and dreams. Our goal is a productive and bright future for all of the starfish that come ashore.

Please visit our website at www.columbus.k12.nc.us and I invite your comments on my blog at drstrickland.blogspot.com.