OPINION:
When nearly one-third of our students fail to complete high school — and when many of those who do graduate are not fully prepared for college and the workforce — it isn’t just an education issue. It’s an issue of national security. As a country, that’s how we must think of it.
In the time it takes to read these paragraphs, another U.S. teenager will drop out of high school: 1.2 million students per year, nearly 7,000 students per school day, one student every 26 seconds drops out. For young people of color, the statistics are even more startling. Nearly half of African-American and Native-American students will not graduate with their class, while less than six in 10 Hispanic students will.
We say we have a dropout crisis. Looking at these figures, and the impact they have on our young people, our families and our country, we have more than a crisis. We’re facing a catastrophe.
Students who drop out are more likely to be incarcerated, to rely on public programs and social services and to go without health insurance than their fellow students who graduate. This dropout catastrophe affects us all, and we pay a staggering national price. High school dropouts from the class of 2007 alone will cost the U.S. economy more than $329 billion in lost wages, taxes and workforce productivity over their lifetimes. Losing more than 1 million students each year not only weakens our future ability to compete in the global marketplace but it jeopardizes our national security.
When our children are not prepared for success, we are failing them and our nation. A strong military depends on an educated workforce. A strong national-security infrastructure depends on an educated workforce. A strong intelligence system depends on an educated workforce, now more than ever.
The United States was once the recognized world leader in the educational arena, but many countries with far fewer resources than ours have now surpassed our graduation and literacy rates. Still others are gaining ground while we have stood still.
We cannot put today’s teens on a bus, send them to school and lock the doors until they graduate, but we can ensure that they have the resources they need inside and outside of the classroom to stay in school. Research has identified five types of support that all children need to stay in school and to succeed in life, what we call the Five Promises: caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, an effective education and opportunities to help others.
In addition, we need as a country to raise our expectations for what students need to know and be able to do, as well as recruit and retain more effective teachers.
Our nation has never backed down from a challenge, and while this is undeniably a daunting one, it is surmountable if we work together. There have been numerous past efforts to improve graduation rates, but most have been implemented in independent silos. The only way to succeed where we have previously failed is to unite together to turn the tide. We need nothing less than a national call to arms.
The America’s Promise Alliance wants to spark national and local solutions to reduce the nation’s high-school dropout rate, increase college readiness and ensure that young people have the resources to enter the 21st century workforce and succeed in life. Over the next two years, 100 summits will take place in states, cities and communities nationwide — bringing together mayors and governors, business owners, child advocates, school administrators, teachers, parents and students — to develop action plans for improving America’s graduation rates.
Our children are our nation’s greatest asset. They represent our aspirations and all that is achievable. Their success will be our nation’s success. Not to do everything possible to arm them for achievement is to threaten the future of this great land.
Gen. Colin L. Powell, who also served as secretary of state, national security adviser and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is founding chairman of the America’s Promise Alliance. Alma J. Powell, who chairs the advisory board of the Pew Center for Civic Change and is a former chairman of the National Council of the Best Friends Foundation, is board chair for the America’s Promise Alliance.
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