Part two of the series in the Daily Press regarding the shortage of employees in the area appeared today with the above title. (See my post on part one here.)
Today’s article looks at dropouts. Hampton Roads has the lowest graduation rates in the state. The problem has serious implications:
The Alliance for Excellent Education – a Washington, D.C. nonprofit organization committed to improving the education of at-risk high school students – reports that if Virginia’s dropout rate were cut in half, the state could increase its revenue from wages by $84 million.
It also notes that if 5 percent more males in Virginia earned high school diplomas, these residents could generate an extra $70 million in wages. They could also save the state $109 million in reduced court and prison-related services.
Those are pretty significant numbers. Stepping into the void is the state-sponsored Career Prep Academy. (Interestingly enough, a search of the Virginia Department of Education’s website reveals nothing about this program.) One of three sites for this pilot program is in Gloucester. From the Spring 2006 edition of the Gloucester High School Guidance Department newsletter, we find that ten students graduated from the program.
While I applaud the efforts of this program, ten students is a drop in the bucket. I believe the key is to find a way to convince students not to drop out in the first place. My own, albeit limited, teaching experience tells me that classwork should be relevant. Kids have a hard time staying focused on stuff when they don’t understand how it can be used. For example, the earlier article mentioned that kids can’t read a tape measure. Perhaps integrating such things as a tape measure into the classroom when teaching fractions would help the kids understand the value.
There is so much to gain by having a well-educated populace. All of us need to make this a priority.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 