The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School ... - Ignite! Learning

The Silent Epidemic
a foundation for discussion at these public
forums. We hope that upon conclusion of these
public forums, plans of action will be put in place
summarizing the concrete steps that leaders in
communities, educators, policymakers and others
will take to ensure more students graduate from
high school.
Conclusion
The dropout epidemic in the United States
merits immediate, large-scale attention from policymakers,
educators, the non-profit and business
communities and the public. We hope that this
report, which brings forward the significant perspectives
of high school dropouts themselves,
will further catalyze efforts to educate the public
about how bad this problem is, and what its negative
effects are, for the young people who fail to
graduate, the schools in which they are failing to
learn, the job markets they cannot enter, and the
diminished communities in which they live.
We believe policymakers at all levels should
use whatever means they have to keep the
dropout problem front and center on the national
agenda until dramatic progress is made in
increasing the percentages of students who
graduate from high school ready for college and
the workforce.
We also hope that new efforts will be born,
and existing efforts given new life, that can
help address this problem urgently and over the
long term. And we hope that the reflections,
insights, and stories shared in this report will
help transform how we view these young people –
not as problems to be solved, but as potential to
be fulfilled.
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The dropout epidemic in the United
States merits immediate attention from
policymakers, educators, the non-profit
and business communities, and the
public… And we hope that the reflections,
insights, and stories shared in
this report will help transform how we
view these children - not as problems
to be solved, but as potential to
be fulfilled.