The Simple Fact of the Matter Is...

From time to time I receive an eLetter,e-Article or other value-add information from The Association For Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) “Whole Child” initiative. I could not –NOT- share this poignant, honest and timely subject matter as articulated by ASCD with the Plainfield Community.

The following is an exact copy of their latest article. I urge you all – educators, parents, teachers, community members and business owners alike to read this informative communique. YOU will never be the same, think the same or continue to do the same…

PART I...

Support Innovative High School Redesign

Did you know that every 29 seconds a student drops out of high school? That is 6-7,000 kids lost every school day, or 1.2 million kids lost every year. Among African-American and Hispanic students the graduation rate is about 55 percent, or roughly one of every two students.

What does life hold for the students who drop out?

Over their lifetime, a high school dropout will earn $260,000 less than someone who completes high school and $1 million less than someone who completes college.

Education means better health. According to the Centers for Disease Control, The U.S. death rate for those with fewer than 12 years of education is 2.5 times higher than the rate of those with 13 years of education or more.

A high school dropout is 3.5 times more likely than a high school graduate to be arrested.

What about the societal cost of dropouts?

A 5 percent increase in the number of male high school graduates would save the nation almost $5 billion in costs associated with incarceration. Dropouts from the class of 2004 will cost the nation more than $325 billion in lost productivity, taxes, and wages over their lifetime.

Stay Tuned Tomorrow for PART II...

Citation Notes: For more information about this organization or to sign-up to received their newsletters, articles and info flashes - check out: http://www.wholechildeducation.org