69ý

Opinion
Federal Opinion

Tackling the Dropout Crisis Comprehensively

By Paulette Lomonaco — June 06, 2008 5 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

A new report on the high school dropout problem, released in April by former U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, his wife, Alma J. Powell, and the America’s Promise Alliance, reveals the breathtaking dimensions of that national tragedy. (“Dropout Campaigns Envisioned for States, 50 Key City Districts,” April 9, 2008.)

The report’s findings show that “only about half of all students served by the main school systems in the nation’s 50 largest cities graduate from high school.” Nationwide, approximately 1.2 million students drop out each year—about 7,000 every school day.

Fortunately, there are programs in place in some of America’s cities that attack this problem comprehensively, by addressing each of its many dimensions. Such endeavors are having a real impact and point the way to a solution.

Any solution to this problem will require active collaboration between local departments of education and community-based organizations.

I am involved with one such program, Good Shepherd Services, a nonprofit youth-development and family-services organization in New York City. Because we have been dealing with the dropout problem for almost three decades, we know that its contours are even more stark when one looks beyond the statistics, sees the real potential of many of these dropouts, and comes to understand the human consequences of their lost promise. A high school diploma is, after all, the critical first step in socioeconomic advancement.

Any solution to this problem will require active collaboration between local departments of education and community-based organizations. It can’t be addressed by schools alone, because the problem isn’t in the schools alone. Often, it involves a poor neighborhood, inadequate support systems, and multiple stresses on families.

Underachieving students often lack a trusting, positive, adult relationship with someone who can help address their needs and advocate effectively for them. Frequently, these students must overcome life circumstances that would be challenging even for an adult and that stand in the way of achieving a diploma. Combining youth development with education, through a strong collaboration between and among agencies, is an essential formula for success.

For those who would undertake such efforts, here are some points to keep in mind:

Successful partnerships can be developed. Collaboration between the New York City Department of Education and community-based organizations has resulted in a citywide strategy known as “multiple pathways to graduation,” which has four primary components: transfer high schools, Young Adult Borough Centers, youth-focused General Educational Development programs, and Learning to Work initiatives.

See Also

For background, previous stories, and Web links, read Dropouts.

Good Shepherd’s first transfer high school was introduced to New York City in 2002. The school—South Brooklyn Community High School—is specially designed to provide active intervention; small, rigorous classes; accelerated learning; and a hands-on, personalized approach to learning. It also involves an equal partnership—in this case, between Good Shepherd Services, which built and operates the school and addresses out-of-class issues affecting students’ performance, and the city’s department of education, whose teachers provide high-caliber classroom instruction.

This nationally recognized model has been so successful that three additional transfer schools have been created—in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens. And there is interest in replicating the model further, in New York as well as in other cities.

Young Adult Borough Centers, which similarly reflect this crucial collaboration, provide a range of support services as well as academic evening classes designed for young people age 17 or older, who have earned at least 17 credits toward high school graduation. Access GED programs give these youths intensive and individualized remediation, and incorporate case management and other services that have not traditionally been part of GED programs to help prepare students for postsecondary success.

The No. 1 predictor of a young person’s future success ... is whether or not they graduate from high school.

Learning to Work contracts developed by the department of education provide the community-based organizations with a funding stream for their work. Integrated across all three models, Learning to Work encourages in-depth exploration of career and educational options, as well as hands-on experience through subsidized internships, which open doors to employment and future career opportunities.

There is reason for optimism. Since the city’s education department established its Office of Multiple Pathways in 2005, more than 5,000 young people in New York City who had either dropped out or fallen off track in traditional schools have graduated from multiple-pathways programs.

South Brooklyn Community High School, for example, boasts a graduation rate of 68 percent among former dropouts. Its students earn an average of from 12 to 14 credits per year toward the 44 credits required to graduate, compared with from 4 to 5 credits at their previous schools.

While these numbers are small, given the magnitude of the crisis, they are nevertheless encouraging. They show that these programs are working. They are now being expanded to serve more students in New York, and are being replicated to address the problem more broadly.

And, for those 5,000 graduates, life looks far more promising. Those with high school diplomas are estimated, on average, to make more than $250,000 in additional lifetime earnings, compared with dropouts, and they are half as likely to be unemployed.

The challenge now is to take what has been learned and apply it on a broader scale. Fortunately, many groups—from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to such New York-based philanthropies as the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, Robin Hood, and the Tiger Foundation—are there to help. They have made major commitments to addressing the dropout problem, and provide important leadership and financial support.

The No. 1 predictor of a young person’s future success, according to Alma Powell, the chair of the America’s Promise Alliance, is whether or not they graduate from high school. None of us should accept anything less than this for any child.

Related Tags:

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69ý
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Federal Video Linda McMahon: 5 Things to Know About Trump's Choice for Education Secretary
President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate former pro-wrestling CEO Linda McMahon to lead the education department.
1 min read
Federal The K-12 World Reacts to Linda McMahon, Trump's Choice for Education Secretary
Some question her lack of experience in education, while supporters say her business background is a major asset.
7 min read
Linda McMahon, former Administrator of Small Business Administration, speaks during the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee.
Linda McMahon speaks during the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee. McMahon has been selected by President-elect Trump to serve as as the next secretary of education.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal What a National School Choice Program Under President Trump Might Look Like
School choice advocates—and detractors—see a second Trump term as the biggest opportunity in decades for choice at the federal level.
8 min read
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69ý," event in the East Room of the White House, on July 7, 2020, in Washington.
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69ý," event in the East Room of the White House on July 7, 2020, in Washington. He returns to power with more momentum than ever behind policies that allow public dollars to pay for private school education.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal 5 Things to Know About Linda McMahon, Trump's Pick for Education Secretary
President-elect Donald Trump’s selection, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment has long spoken favorably about school choice.
7 min read
Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington on Oct. 3, 2018.
Linda McMahon speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington on Oct. 3, 2018, when she was serving as head of the Small Business Administration during President Trump's first administration. McMahon is now President-elect Trump's choice for U.S. secretary of education.
Susan Walsh/AP