A Dropout Nation

Every school day almost 7,000 high school students drop out of school and fail to graduate with their class.  Perhaps more staggering than the number of students dropping out of American high schools, is the silence that surrounds this growing problem.  The recent Gates Foundation commissioned study entitled “The Silent Epidemic – Perspectives of High School Dropouts” and its conclusion that the epidemic nature of the high school dropout rate in this country is “tragic” says it best.

There are thousands of troubled youth looking for a way to avoid the risk of drug use, gang violence and abusive relationships, all unfortunate alternatives to life in the classroom.  The consequences of leaving school without a diploma are very often dire and considerable.  Consider the evidence of this growing and troubling national problem outlined in the various studies and reports below: