Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, depression and other pediatric mental health issues are more likely to drop out of school, according to a new study from Australia.

Study author Steven Lehrer, a professor at Queen’s University, believes that since poor mental health has an impact on how long children and teenagers stay in school, policymakers should consider how to identify such issues in early childhood and develop interventions.

This study, published in the Forum for Health Economics and Policy, won the RAND Corporation’s Fuchs Research Award.

Labels: depression, dropouts, mental_health, prevention

A study in Massachusetts has found that the cities with the highest school dropout rates are also the cities with the highest teen pregnancy rates. Each year, about 10,000 kids drop out of Massachusetts schools, and 25 percent of them are pregnant or already parents.

"Obviously, preventing kids from getting pregnant in the first place is the best solution here. To that end, kids need better sex ed in schools, access to birth control, and reasons to delay sex and pregnancy," the Boston Globe reported in an article on the research. "And the girls who are already mothers need someone to care for their babies while they go to school."

Unfortunately, school budgets are about to get cut again, and child care funds for teen mothers are also expected to be reduced. Some in Massachusetts are protesting this move, saying it will cost less now to ensure these kids get educated than it will cost to take care of them in the future when they’re unemployable.

Labels: dropouts, pregnancy

He helped lead the U.S. military through Operation Desert Storm, and later led the nation's diplomatic effort as Secretary of State. Now, according to a June 18 CNN article, retired four-star general Colin Powell is taking aim at another major challenge: the high dropout rate among U.S. high school students:

A 2008 study by America's Promise Alliance, a group founded by former Secretary of State Colin Powell, concluded that only 52 percent of students in the nation's 50 largest school systems graduate in four years.

About 57 percent of Hispanic and 53 percent of African-American students graduate with a regular diploma in four years, according to the study, which puts the national graduation rate at 70 percent.

"Finishing high school is absolutely basic to being a success at any place in our society. We can't afford this," Powell said.

"If we lose these youngsters from our educational system, it doesn't mean they're all going to jail," Powell said. "It just means they're not going to have the same earning potential as they would if they finished school. And ultimately that will affect them, and it will affect the nation."

America's Promise Alliance hopes to hold 100 dropout prevention summits throughout the United States, CNN reported.

Labels: dropouts, prevention, schools

Researchers with academic organizations in Massachusetts and Illinois have determined that the United States is in the throes of a "dropout crisis" that requires national attention. A May 5 article on the CNN website reported that the problem is particularly profound among male and minority students:

In 2007, 16 percent of U.S. residents between 16 and 24 years old were high school dropouts, said the report by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Alternative Schools Network in Chicago, Illinois. Among the dropouts, 60.1 percent were men, 30.1 percent were Latino and 18.8 percent were black.

"Because of the widespread, pressing nature of the crisis and the large numbers of young people who have already dropped out, a national re-enrollment strategy should be a fundamental part of America's national education agenda," the report says.

Experts estimate that an average high school dropout can expect to earn between $400,000 and $500,000 less than an average graduate will over the course of their working lives (between the ages of 18 and 64).

Labels: dropouts, education, high_school

Imagine sitting in a classroom with fellow students, learning about history, math, English, and art. When the school bell rings, your classmates sigh with relief. But for you, the final bell brings feelings of dread because your family is homeless.

"Their numbers are staggering - nearly 700 at the official count by [San Luis Obispo] county school districts last school year. More than 200 of those are 'unaccompanied youth.' And with the tightening economy, those numbers are widely expected to be even higher this year, as more and more local families find themselves without a home to call their own."

School districts do all they can to help give these kids a sense of stability, but the mobile lifestyle gives them no place to sleep or study, putting them at high risk of falling behind or dropping out. Source: New Times in San Luis Obispo

Labels: dropouts, homelessness, students

The school dropout rate in North Carolina increased more than 6 percent in the 2006-2007 school year. While some feel it's best to let those go who want to drop out, but there's a larger group who feels these teens shouldn't just be written off.

"...conference leaders took note of the temptations and challenges teens face - especially black male teens - to stay on the right path. Peer pressure, lack of confidence and low expectations among them."

The conference, sponsored by the Leadership Education Economic Empowerment Project and Park Ministries Crossroads Initiative, was attended by close to 300 black male teens - many of whom brought their parents.

Labels: challenges, choices, dropouts