The good news is according to the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Education Statistics, Public Schools Graduate and Dropout study for the Class of 2010, 78.2% of students across the country earned a diploma within four years of starting high school. This is the highest graduation rate in almost 40 years.
Communicating with your son is important. Give him information. Earning a High School Diploma is pretty much needed to get a job in today’s work world and, of course, is required to enter a college or university and many technical trade schools.
Generally, if you do not have a High School Diploma, you can only get a minimum wage paying job.
Share this information with your son from the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network list of top reasons to stay in school:
- High school dropouts are four times as likely to be unemployed as those who have completed four or more years of college
- High school graduates earn $143 more per week than high school dropouts. College graduates earn $336 more per week than high school graduates ($479 more per week than high school dropouts)
- Dropouts are more likely to apply for and receive public assistance than graduates of high school
- 82% of prisoners in America are high school dropouts
- School districts all over the country provide alternative programs for students who are not successful in the usual school setting
Reasons why teenagers drop out of school:
- Difficulty getting along with teachers
- Difficulty getting along with peers
- Struggling with school work
- Being bullied
- Being bored
- Trouble with school authority
- Trouble with the law
- Teen pregnancy
- Don’t like school
- Failing classes
- Feeling like they don’t belong
- Don’t feel safe
- Family Problems
- Being expelled
- Substance abuse problems
- Friends dropped out
Ask your son why he wants to drop out of school. Listen to what he has to say. Be empathetic. Work together to solve the problems he is experiencing at school.
Getting away from the current environment can be a great way to make a new start.
Triumph Youth Services has an accredited high school. The teaching staff is experienced working with students that may be behind in credits or have learning disabilities or other educational challenges. They will do an academic assessment and help your son graduate with a high school diploma and do career or further education planning as well.
Call them today. Give your son a new start.
Reference:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013309.pdf
http://www.dropoutprevention.org/sites/default/files/The_Value_of_a_Diploma.pdf
http://www.dropoutprevention.org/family-student-resources/top-5-reasons-stay-school
