The High Price of Being a High School Drop Out

I teach students at Fresno City College planning to be K - 12 teachers. It is, therefore, my responsibility to know about the education process. I tell my students that we, as educators, have failed when students drop out of school before graduating with a high school diploma. Maybe teachers can't prevent all dropouts since the home environment is critical to success in school. But regardless of where one might point the finger of blame, it's the dropouts in particular and society in general that pays the penalty.

On average, approximately a quarter of students drop out before graduating. Obviously, this percentage varies from school district to school district. Some of the 5,000 or so school districts in the country (Detroit, for example) have horrific drop out rates of almost two thirds. Other districts can be as "low" as 10 percent. The numbers, however, only tell part of the story.

A high school drop out, simply stated, is the last to be hired and the first to be fired and/or laid off. The drop out, when fortunate enough to find work, is hired for the worst jobs and for the lowest paying jobs. Employment usually is on a low hourly scale and benefits are few or often non-existent.

There was a time when my generation entered the workforce-the post World War II "baby boomers"--when a dropout could usually find decent employment, usually in a factory environment. Unionized assembly-line work, particularly in the auto industry, consisting of routine, manual labor required very limited education. Those jobs, however, are just about all gone as America entered a global economy where efficiency and education, not brawn, are essential.

In addition to unemployment or underemployment that results from being a dropout, society pays the tax price through public assistance and the fiscal/personal price of crime. The California Dropout Research Project at UC Santa Barbara recently reported that high school dropouts, who are more likely to commit crimes than their peers with diplomas, cost California $1.1 billion annually in law enforcement and victim costs while still minors (emphasis mine). Unfortunately, criminal activity does not end when these minors move into adulthood; if anything, it only increases.

The UC Project found that cutting the dropout rate in half would prevent 30,000 juvenile crimes and save $550 million every year. Project researchers previously studied the economic effect of not finishing high school and found that for each group of 20-year-olds who fail to complete high school (roughly 120,000 per year), the economic loss is $46.4 billion!

As reported in the Los Angeles Times, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said that, "the connection between dropping out of school and juvenile crime is very clear. the simple fact is if kids aren't in school, they're much more likely to be on the streets causing trouble, engaging in criminal activities such as burglary, thefts, graffiti and arsons."

Dyer and others, according to the Los Angeles Times, urged the governor to sign legislation, SB 651, which would require the state Department of Education to produce an annual report that accurately depicts the number of students not finishing school. The report would also identify early signs that a student might be on the path to dropping out, such as truancy. Such indicators would allow schools to target at-risk students.

Dropping out of school is unacceptable and can be prevented. We can do better. Ask what he or she is going to do about it when the next school board candidate asks for your vote.

Coming Soon. . .

1. The James J. Craycroft home: A story of neglect.
2. The San Joaquin River Conservation Board, the San Joaquin River Parkway and the Sierra Foothill Conservancy: Working Together for a Better Region

Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail me at abriancalhoun@gmail.com.