Sunday, December 14, 2008

The Dropout Crisis in Missouri


"We have on our hands a dropout crisis nationwide and it is most profound for low-income communities and communities of color." The comment by Daria Hall, a policy analyst for The Education Trust, is part of an article in the Dec. 9, 2008, issue of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

The Post was highlighting the "skyrocketing" dropout rates in the St. Louis City School District. The reporter doesn't explicitly say that the drop out rates are higher now than they were before all of the turmoil in the District that was caused by the turnaround fiasco authored by City politicians, but the chart from the Post article seems to support that thought.

I do recall that there were some really good student retention programs and efforts to reduce the dropout rate when I was employed in the communications department of the District. But, alas, those were pretty much decimated in the name of "turn around" efforts.

The high school dropout issue in St. Louis, Missouri and across the country is serious and is certainly in need of leadership with a commitment to funding programs proven to keep our children in school. We know that at-risk students (those living in poverty or other undesirable home environments, those with disciplinary problems and those that move multiple times within a school year) need the special attention of caring adults and peers to make it across the graduation stage.

When we have thousands of high school dropouts in Missouri and more than a million nation-wide, we have to hang our head in shame.

I volunteer with College Bound a wonderful non-profit that is doing great work with high school students in the St. Louis area. And I know of a few more, but more must be done to move us out of this "dropout crisis."

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

We Need More Great Mothers

I am so amazed by the impact a mother has on her family. I am not surprised by the impact, just amazed. As my brother and I were traveling to the funeral of my sister-in-law's beloved mother last Saturday, we began to discuss the impact our own mother had on our lives. We tried to figure out what made our mother, of so very modest means, so good at raising close-knit, self-sufficient and hard-working children. What did she know or do that perhaps the mother down the street from our house or on the next block just couldn't figure out?

I learned today of a mother that was openly communicating that she didn't believe her daughter had what it takes to succeed in college. And this was done not jokingly, but in a derogatory manner. Definitely no Mother of the Year award for her!

At the funeral, we said goodbye to another mother of modest means who somehow knew the right combination of love, generosity and discipline for raising a pretty decent crop of children. When I heard one of the young men attending the funeral say that he just couldn't bear to go through with the funeral, I asked my sister-in-law what was his relationship to her mother. She shared that he was one of several grandchildren and that somehow her mother had managed to make all of the grandchildren feel special, loved and very important.

While we want every child to experience that type of grandmotherly and motherly love, we know there are far too many children that do not. Moms, we must strive to join the ranks of the Great Mothers. We don't have to be rich or highly-educated or perfect to be a great mom. In fact, the specific steps to being a great mom will vary from family to family. And certainly being a great mom doesn't mean you will achieve notoriety. I think it does mean that you will have a profound and positive impact on so many lives, that it is truly worth the effort.

What a privilege and blessing to be raised by a great mother.