Resources

For Policymakers

To address the systemic problems driving the school dropout epidemic, policymakers, thought leaders, and politicians can push for structural reforms at the school, district, state, and federal levels.

At the School Level

It is clear the traditional "one size fits all" model of schooling is outdated and ineffective. Local communities need to:

Offer multiple paths to and through high school and into college or work for students at risk of dropping out. These pathways include alternative schools with individualized educational plans, theme-based schools for the arts and sciences, small learning environments with more one on one instruction and interdisciplinary teaming of teachers and students.
Partner with innovators in school reform that are demonstrating success in boosting student achievement, and high school graduation and college-going rates. For example, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested more than $1.7 billion to support new models in more than 1,800 schools in communities across the country, These models include:
- Communities In Schools (CIS), operates a national network of non-traditional high schools that serves students who have either dropped out or are at-risk of dropping out and helps them graduate ready for college and work success.
- The Early College High School Initiative operates 160 schools across the nation that recruit traditionally low-performing students, many below grade level, to attend high schools that require enrollment in college courses. In the inaugural class, more than 95 percent of entering ninth graders have graduated with a high school diploma, and more than 80 percent have been accepted into a four-year college.
- In New York City, graduation rates increased to 79 percent in the first set of high schools that replaced high schools that had graduation rates ranging from 31 to 51 percent. These new schools promote more academic rigor, provide greater access to advanced courses, support students through the transition to high school, and increase course relevance to students' personal experiences and career aspirations
- Several other high performing school networks, such as Cristo Rey, Green Dot, the Met and KIPP Academies, are expanding and raising graduation and college-going rates in cities across the country.
Reach out more effectively to parents to ensure they are focused on their child's progress, with individualized graduation plans tailored to each student. Simple absentee lists and phone calls to parents when students are truant can also help foster a commitment to schooling while simultaneously alerting school administrators to students at-risk of dropping out.
Create adult advocacy programs, particularly in large districts, that help identify students at risk of falling behind or being derailed by personal problems.
Advocate for accurate graduation rate data that provides better information about where students need the most support to stay in school. Shelbyville, Indiana leaders admitted they had been ignoring a serious dropout problem: reporting a graduation rate of 90 percent, when the accurate number was closer to 75 percent. The courage and honesty of their story was the basis for a TIME Magazine Cover story. Shelbyville has since put in place strong reforms, including an alternative school, a credit recovery program, an adult advocacy/parent engagement initiative, and efforts to engage corporations in providing internships, work-study and service learning programs.
Host or join local summits to end America's Silent Dropout Epidemic. America's Promise will host summits in Houston, TX on July 14-15, 2007 and Nashville, TN on July 31-August 1, 2007 in which community leaders across the nation will receive training on how to confront the dropout crisis and to convene local dropout summits. In conjunction with this effort, Mayors across America will be sent graduation rate reports for their cities and towns and challenged to host dropout summits to increase high school graduation rates and improve college and workforce readiness among their student population.

At the Policy Level

Local, state and federal policy actions can keep youth in school and re-engage those who have dropped out.

Provide students with multiple pathways to graduation via traditional public schools, magnet schools, charter schools, private schools, virtual schools, and alternative education programs that provide students another chance for academic success.
"The government would reap $45 billion in extra tax revenues and reduced costs in public health, crime, and welfare payments if the number of high school dropouts among 20-year olds in the U.S. today, which numbers more than 700,000 individuals, were cut in half."

—Ending The Silent Epidemic (PDF)

Make high school more relevant through dual enrollment, career and technical education, and other programs that create meaningful links between high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce.
Develop early warning systems will help states to focus their academic and social service interventions on students who are at risk of failure or dropping out. Accurately collecting other data such as graduation rates help states hold districts, schools, and teachers accountable for performance and inform policymakers of where progress is being made and where additional efforts or resources are needed.
Set benchmarks for raising graduation rates, and implement systems to track the progress of every student over time. For additional information, visit the Data Quality Campaign and read "Calculation of High School Dropout Rates and Updates."
Raise the minimum compulsory school age from 16 to 18 can be an important part of a comprehensive plan to increase graduation rates, as doing so sends a strong signal that a state takes its dropout problem seriously.
Align high school graduation standards with college entrance requirements and employer expectations to ensure that curricula are rigorous and relevant and that students are successful in life after graduation. For more information on the connection between high school graduation requirements and college and workplace expectations, visit Achieve's Web site.
Support new high school graduation policies announced by the U.S. Department of Education that are consistent with recommendations in The Silent Epidemic that respond to the crisis by:
- Providing better tracking of student progress to identify those who need the most support, and asking schools to report graduation rate data by racial and ethnic subgroups at the district level in 2007-8 and at the school level by 2012;
- Encouraging incentives to improve both academic performance and graduation rates;
- Creating the U.S. Department of Education's Dropout Prevention database for the "What Works Clearinghouse" to examine secondary school and community-based interventions designed to help students stay in school;
- Requesting a doubling of support in the FY 2008 budget for statewide data systems up to $49 million a year; and
- Engaging high schools and colleges in an effort to improve standards for high school coursework so that students are better prepared to succeed in college.

These policy solutions represent the first phase of what we hope will be an energetic and robust examination of our national approach to identifying and reconnecting the vulnerable students at risk of falling through the cracks of our current educational system. We believe the current dropout trends must be reversed in order to keep our nation competitive in the 21st century global economy, and in order to provide opportunities to as many young people in our nation as possible. We know with your help we can make real progress, and we welcome your thoughts as we begin a national dialogue on this critical issue.