"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."
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."
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