Preventing High School Drop Outs Summit

Friday, January 30, 2009 - Nampa, Idaho: More than 300 people attended the Prevention Summit. Here are some of the notes...

With all of the resources available, why are so many still falling through the cracks and dropping out? Answers given by teens: "Teachers who put me down. Parents not present. Parents not caring. Administrators who put me down."

Business and Adult answer: Relevance and Rigor is needed in schools of the 21st Century. My commentary on this is that every child in every classroom can not experience relevance and rigor when every child is in every classroom. NEW models are needed for organizing students and presenting curriculum that meets student needs.

NEW attitudes toward the importance of education are needed. Starting with "Education is a part of our National Defense" say I, Jana Kemp. Greg Mortenson author of "Three Cups of Tea" essentially says that education is the key to ending wars and preventing terrorism - so my stretch is not a big one.

Also consider - Idaho's constitution requires the State to provide education for students!

School size matters - the bigger the class and the bigger the school building, the less valued students feel, the less they are able to learn.

Department of Corrections shared note-worthy statistics such as one-half of non-graduating high school students end up in prison in Idaho. Improved education is one of the answers for addressing prison population growth!