Dropping Out: A Dangerous Decision

1. Dropping Out: A Dangerous Decision Taken from The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts

2. Dropping Out: A Dangerous Decision • Each year, almost one third of all public high school students fail to graduate with their class.

3. Dropping Out: A Dangerous Decision • Nearly one half of all Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans fail to graduate from public high school with their class.

4. Dropping Out: A Dangerous Decision • Dropouts are much more likely to be: • Unemployed • Living in poverty • Receiving public assistance • In prison • On Death row • Unhealthy • Divorced • Single parents with children who drop out from high school themselves

5. Dropping Out: A Dangerous Decision • Why students drop out? • Classes were not interesting • Missed too many days and could not catch up • Spent time with people who were not interested in school • Had too much freedom in life • Was failing in school

6. Dropping Out: A Dangerous Decision • What might help students stay in school? • Opportunities for real-world learning (internships, service learning, etc.) to make classrooms more relevant • Teachers who keep classes interesting • Smaller classes with more individual instruction • Better communication between parents & school, get parents more involved • Parents make sure kids go to school everyday • Increase supervision at school—ensure students attend classes • One caring adult in the school

7. Dropping Out: A Dangerous Decision • Almost 45 years ago, James Conant said that the dropout problem was “social dynamite.” “The explosion has occurred, and will continue to occur. This is seen in growing prison populations and increasing welfare costs; in ever lower wages; in a limited labor supply for, we are told, an economy with an increasing appetite for educated workers; and in the likelihood of raising a new generation with dim prospects of doing better—and perhaps even worse.”