American Dropout Rates
Fixing an Epidemic: American Dropout Rates
In the United States there are tons of problems affecting our youth, one very prevalent issue affecting the American youth for a long time has been the very high rates of school dropouts. According to DoSomething.org, a non-profit helping raise awareness on various issues affecting young people, there is one student who decides to give up on school every 29 seconds. This calculates to approximately 1,000,000 American dropouts a year, 7,000 a day (DoSomething). The US as a whole is losing credibility as being the greatest country in the world, because we continuously fall behind other countries, currently the US ranks 21 out of 26 of developed countries for high school graduation percentage (Cardoza …show more content…
One strategy that must be implemented is for schools to engage and partner with parents of these at risk students. As a student gets older usually the communications between parent and teacher becomes less and less, however if the interaction between parent, teacher and student are more frequent it can change the outcome. Some schools have implemented a home visit system, where a staff member makes visits to students’ homes to update parents on their student’s academic status (Ferger 2008). This strategy will give a student a feel like their parents are willing to learn and help them through the process of completing school. Another strategy to improving graduation rates is improving and focusing on early education. Students need to have a strong foundation in which to build their academic career around. Things like preschool can boost a child’s graduation rate from 11 to 19 percent (Ferger 2008). A focus on early literacy is extremely important as well because reading and writing will be used in every subject in the future (Schargel 2006). The next strategy to highlight is a change in classroom size. Schools with successful graduates usually have 20 – 25 students a class; this makes every class a bit more personal and engaging (NEA). By doing this a teacher can be more …show more content…
Cardoza, Kavitha. "Graduation Rates Increase Around The Globe As U.S. Plateaus Other Countries Have Pulled Ahead, and the U.S. Falls behind." WAMU 88.5. WAMU.org, 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.
4. Furger, Robert. "How to End the Dropout Crisis: Ten Strategies for Student Retention." Edutopia. The George Lucas Educational Foundation, 3 Dec. 2008. Web. 09 Apr. 2013.
5. James, Molly. "Causes of High School Dropouts." LoveToKnow. N.p., 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
6. "Preventing Future High School Dropouts." Rss. NEA State and Local Affiliates, n.d. . 09 Apr. 2013.
7. Schargel, Franklin P. "15 Effective Strategies for Dropout Prevention." : Schargel Consulting Group. Schargel Consulting Group, 3 Feb. 2006. Web. 09 Apr. 2013.
8. Schwartz, Wendy. "New Information on Youth Who Drop Out." New Information on Youth Who Drop Out. Kids Source, 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.
9. "The Significance of the Dropout Crisis." Get the Facts. Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.
10. Simmons, Laura. "Preventing High School Dropouts: What Really Works? | UNC Charlotte Urban Institute." Preventing High School Dropouts: What Really Works? | UNC Charlotte Urban Institute. UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, 19 July 2012. Web. 09 Apr.
In the United States there are tons of problems affecting our youth, one very prevalent issue affecting the American youth for a long time has been the very high rates of school dropouts. According to DoSomething.org, a non-profit helping raise awareness on various issues affecting young people, there is one student who decides to give up on school every 29 seconds. This calculates to approximately 1,000,000 American dropouts a year, 7,000 a day (DoSomething). The US as a whole is losing credibility as being the greatest country in the world, because we continuously fall behind other countries, currently the US ranks 21 out of 26 of developed countries for high school graduation percentage (Cardoza …show more content…
One strategy that must be implemented is for schools to engage and partner with parents of these at risk students. As a student gets older usually the communications between parent and teacher becomes less and less, however if the interaction between parent, teacher and student are more frequent it can change the outcome. Some schools have implemented a home visit system, where a staff member makes visits to students’ homes to update parents on their student’s academic status (Ferger 2008). This strategy will give a student a feel like their parents are willing to learn and help them through the process of completing school. Another strategy to improving graduation rates is improving and focusing on early education. Students need to have a strong foundation in which to build their academic career around. Things like preschool can boost a child’s graduation rate from 11 to 19 percent (Ferger 2008). A focus on early literacy is extremely important as well because reading and writing will be used in every subject in the future (Schargel 2006). The next strategy to highlight is a change in classroom size. Schools with successful graduates usually have 20 – 25 students a class; this makes every class a bit more personal and engaging (NEA). By doing this a teacher can be more …show more content…
Cardoza, Kavitha. "Graduation Rates Increase Around The Globe As U.S. Plateaus Other Countries Have Pulled Ahead, and the U.S. Falls behind." WAMU 88.5. WAMU.org, 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.
4. Furger, Robert. "How to End the Dropout Crisis: Ten Strategies for Student Retention." Edutopia. The George Lucas Educational Foundation, 3 Dec. 2008. Web. 09 Apr. 2013.
5. James, Molly. "Causes of High School Dropouts." LoveToKnow. N.p., 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
6. "Preventing Future High School Dropouts." Rss. NEA State and Local Affiliates, n.d. . 09 Apr. 2013.
7. Schargel, Franklin P. "15 Effective Strategies for Dropout Prevention." : Schargel Consulting Group. Schargel Consulting Group, 3 Feb. 2006. Web. 09 Apr. 2013.
8. Schwartz, Wendy. "New Information on Youth Who Drop Out." New Information on Youth Who Drop Out. Kids Source, 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.
9. "The Significance of the Dropout Crisis." Get the Facts. Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.
10. Simmons, Laura. "Preventing High School Dropouts: What Really Works? | UNC Charlotte Urban Institute." Preventing High School Dropouts: What Really Works? | UNC Charlotte Urban Institute. UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, 19 July 2012. Web. 09 Apr.