Obama Rekindles State Debates on Dropout Age

Obama Rekindles State Debates on Dropout Age

This is a current issue in Georgia with several lawmakers and school districts supporting raising the drop out age in Georgia to 18. Raising the age without making other changes will not work nor will it help lower the drop out rate. We need to make reasons for students to stay in school. Many students who do not plan to attend college, for whatever reason, see no reason to stay in school. The students don't see any benefit in a high school diploma, feel that they will never graduate, or believe that they can find work without a diploma. We have to have programs in high school for these students. The Governor's new plan for College and Workforce Readiness is a good start. If we realize that despite No Child Left Behind, some students are not going to college and begin to prepare them for jobs right out of high school, we will make an impact. My hope is that with the new plan, we can beef up our technical offerings in high school. We can offer students classes in today's workforce needs such as graphics, construction, electrical work, culinary arts, and more. With these classes as an incentive, students will begin to see a reason to stay in school and get a high school diploma. This is the only way to really impact the drop out rate. Simply raising the drop out age alone will not work.