Keeping kids in school
Dropping out of school is a huge decision for any student to undertake. Here are some ways to help guide the decision:
What to do
Avoid giving lectures about staying in school; instead explore the long-term effects this will have.
Get to the bottom of their reason. It may have nothing to do with school at all. So if you can solve or even reduce the issue, you may be able to change their mindset.
Together, research the annual income rates for dropouts vs. high school graduates.
Build a “what I need to live on” budget together and compare it to incomes of jobs available to dropouts.
Ways to sway
Talk about it
Get them to talk about "why" they want to drop out. Understanding the "why", will help you find solutions to getting them to stay in school.
Look at the ramifications.
Show the difference in income and lifestyle between a dropout and a person with a high school degree.
Where to get help
Identify and connect with supportive resources at school or in the community. Many school districts have dropout prevention programs, including alternative education programs.
The Bigger Picture
The costs for dropping out effects individuals, communities, and the entire nation. The average high school dropout makes 27 percent less income than the average high school graduate. So over a lifetime, this adds up to over a quarter million dollars in reduced personal capital.
The lower wages of dropouts mean that $36 billion dollars in state and local funding is lost each year. Lower annual earnings of dropouts cost the federal government an estimated $158 billion or more in lost revenue each year. And each young person who drops out and enters a life marked by drug use and crime costs the nation between $1.7 and $2.3 million in crime control and health expenditures. A 1 % reduction in dropout rates would reduce the number of crimes by 100,000 annually.
From The Blog
Mentoring Programs Aim to Increase High School Grad
… for teens who didn’t graduate high school, having a caring adult in their life might have made a difference. Mentoring is one effective strategy to prevent dropouts promoted by the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network.
$670,000 in lost lifetime income for those without a high school degree
Dropping out of high school is related to a number of negative outcomes. For example, the median income of persons ages 18 through 67 who had not completed high school was roughly $25,000 in 2012.1 By comparison, the median income of persons ages 18 through 67 who completed their education with at least a high school credential, including a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, was approximately $46,000.
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015015.pdf