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 Dropout
Prevention
Three years ago, I,
along with my colleagues in the Senate
Philadelphia Delegation provided the
School District of Philadelphia with $2
million in state grant funds to bolster
school dropout prevention efforts.
Specifically, the Department of
Education monies were targeting two
strategic priorities. The first
addressed dropout recovery in seven of
the largest neighborhood high schools
that suffer from high dropout rates.
This group is comprised of Bartram,
Frankford, George Washington, Martin
Luther King, Gratz, Overbrook, and
University City high schools.
A middle grades dropout prevention plan
represented the second priority. It
involved instituting the Middle Grades
Acceleration Program (MGAP) in all 11
regions of the city to offer added
assistance to at-risk middle grades
students and the teachers who are
dedicated to addressing their needs.
It was my hope that this grant would act
as a catalyst to draw additional dollars
to help in the fight against the growing
number of our youth dropping out of
school. Failure was not an option back
then, and it is not an option now.
In a time where the
nation’s economy has done a complete
nosedive, plunging us into the most
difficult economic times since the Great
Depression and with our global economic
competitors breathing down our necks, it
is imperative that we prepare and
educate those individuals who will
determine the future success of this
nation to the
fullest extent – our children and young
people.
 The
Education crisis that could severely
hinder our nation’s economic future and
our future competitiveness in the global
arena is the high rate of high school
dropout across the nation.
The level of high school dropouts
throughout the U.S. has hit catastrophic
numbers. According to America’s Promise
Alliance, headed up by former U.S.
secretary of State Colin Powell and his wife Alma, nearly one in three U.S. high
school students fails to graduate. In
total, approximately 1.2 million
students drop out each year – averaging
7,000 every school day or one every 26
seconds. Among minority students, the
problem is even more severe with nearly
50 percent of African American and
Hispanic students not completing high
school on time.
In April 2009, the Alliance released the
report
Cities in Crisis 2009: Closing
the Graduation Gap. The report stated
that the average graduation rate of the
50 largest cities is well below the
national average of 71%, and there
remains an 18 percentage point urban
suburban gap. Cities in Crisis 2009
finds that only about half (53%) of all
young people in the nation’s 50 largest
cities are graduating from high school
on time.
According to 2008 statistics from the
School District of Philadelphia, about
half of city students who start ninth
grade leave before graduation. The
district also estimated that 47
 percent
of its students dropped out in 2008.
According to a recent
report from The School Reform
Commission:
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Just 39 percent
of city dropouts were employed,
compared to 58 percent of high
school graduates, 70 percent of
those with some college and 82
percent of those with a four-year
degree or higher.
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Nearly 49 percent
of city residents who were dropouts
received at least one
government-assistance cash-transfer
payment, compared to just 29 percent
among high school graduates and 14
percent among college graduates.
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Statewide, the
majority of 18-to-60-year-olds in
prisons and jails are dropouts. An
estimated 5.1 percent of the state's
dropouts are incarcerated, compared
to 1.6 percent of high school
graduates and 0.2 percent of those
with college degrees.
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High school
dropouts in the city make a combined
annual tax payment (including
federal and state income taxes, city
wage tax, Social Security payroll
taxes, federal retirement
contributions, local property taxes
and state sales taxes) of $4,250,
compared to $10,320, the mean
combined tax payment of all city
residents.
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On average, for
every $1 in taxes paid by a high
school dropout in the city, high
school graduates pay $2.19 and
college graduates pay $4.04.
I
recently met with Dr. Arlene Ackerman,
the new CEO of the Philadelphia School
District, to discuss her plans to
address this issue. I have also met
with several business leaders throughout
the region to gain their perspective and
their willingness to engage on this
issue.
What is clear is that
even in these most difficult times, we
must tackle this issue, and we must be
bold and prepared to do it
collectively. The success of these
young people and the
 uccess of our
region depend on our commitment.
As we work to solve
the state’s budget crisis, we are also
looking for ways to push the high school
dropout agenda. Any suggestions that
you may have would be greatly
appreciated. Please go to our website
www.senatorhughes.com and connect to
the Solutions link. Or you can call us
directly at 215-879-7777.
Thank you.
The reports detailing
the issues around high school dropouts
in Philadelphia are entitled:
The Tax and Transfer Fiscal Impacts of
Dropping Out of High School in
Philadelphia City and Suburbs
and
The Lifetime Employment and Earnings
Consequences of Dropping Out of High
School in Philadelphia
They can both be
found on the website,
http://pwib.org/data_publications
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