- For many high school dropouts, the decision to stop attending classes goes without any objections from their parents. Although schools have professional counselors, principals, teachers and mentor programs, nothing can take the place of parental support. A student whose parents are involved in her education is not only more likely to graduate, she's more likely to earn a high grade point average, enroll in challenging academic courses and attend classes regularly with a positive disposition toward school.
- In poverty-stricken areas in which there is a high rate of unemployment and crime, there is a high rate of high school dropouts. When a student is a part of a family with no financial stability, his education can be at risk for reasons beyond his control. Poor families may relocate several times yearly, lack the ability to maintain reliable transportation and be denied access to doctors during an illness. For a teenage youth, these circumstances can be too insurmountable to keep him successful involved in high school.
- American classrooms can have anywhere from 26 to 32 students per class, forcing teachers to balance the duty of maintaining discipline and order with educating. According to Solutions for America, an organization sponsored by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, 62 percent of surveyed dropouts stated that there was not enough classroom discipline to ensure academic success. Seventy-two percent of dropouts wanted smaller classroom sizes.
- Low self-esteem, disabilities, depression, an active sex life and the use of illegal substances are the cause behind countless school dropouts. Educators are trained to identify students who exhibit a personal risk factor in an effort to provide early intervention. This student will be offered counseling opportunities, a class curriculum that caters to her specific disability and any other resources to help her overcome her personal struggle to succeed in school.
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