Oct 15, 2008 2:33 pm US/Eastern
N.J. Battles High School Dropout Rates
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) ―
Though New
Jersey's high school graduation rate is among the
best in the nation, officials on Wednesday launched a yearlong effort to
further reduce the state's 17 percent dropout rate.
Gov. Jon Corzine,
Attorney General Anne Milgram, Education Commissioner Lucille Davy and other
officials were among those on hand to kick off the initiative, called "The New
Jersey High School Graduation Campaign."
"It's important that we
understand that when children, young people, stay in school, they stay out of
trouble," Corzine said at a news conference kicking off the campaign at Rutgers
University-Newark. "Look at our prison population: 75 percent of those in
prison are high school dropouts."
The governor and the
others were joined by Alma Powell, chairwoman of a national initiative to raise
awareness about high school dropouts. Powell, the wife of former U.S. Secretary
of State Colin Powell, said Newark, Camden and Jersey City are
among the 50 cities that America's
Promise Alliance is targeting.
The campaign aims to
reduce high school dropout rates by promoting support for students and their
families, supporting teachers, cultivating school leaders and establishing high
expectations.
Powell said a student
somewhere in the country drops out of school every 26 seconds, and that the
dropout rate in some communities has reached crisis proportions. In New Jersey, about 19,000
students failed to graduate in 2007, according to state officials.
The New Jersey cities targeted have some schools
with especially high dropout rates, according to state data. In the 2006-07
school year, for instance, the dropout rate at Camden High was about one in
four. And at Renaissance Academy, an alternative school in Newark, it was one in three.
The high school dropout
rate is 30 percent for all U.S. students, 42 percent for Hispanic students
and 47 percent for black students.
Corzine noted the
income disparities that come from limited education: High school dropouts earn
about $23,000 a year, high school graduates make about $31,000 a year and
college graduates earn an average of $50,000.
"There's a huge, huge
impact on a person's life by being able to stay in school, to get the skills to
be able to operate in the 21st century," the governor said. "I hope
that all of this will come together in a way that will make a difference in
young people's lives going forward."
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
