There are new results of an ongoing study from the Alliance for Excellent Education that demonstrate the economic benefits of reducing the dropout rates for students of color in the nation’s forty-five largest metropolitan areas.
Earlier this year, the Alliance broke new ground by releasing metropolitan area-level data underscoring the powerful connection between decreasing the dropout rate and strengthening local economies. They released a new report that looks at the economic benefits that would come from improving the dropout rate of students of color in particular, who we know are among the most at risk of not graduating from high school. The findings estimate the contributions that additional high school graduates would likely make to a number of key economic factors, including job and economic growth, annual earnings, and home and automobile sales. They demonstrate the significant stake that community members””even those without children in the school system””have in the effectiveness of their local high schools. These findings also bring to light the return on investment that local areas would likely see if community members were to address the dropout crisis that exists among students of color in their local high schools, underscoring the notion that the best economic stimulus package is, indeed, a high school diploma.
Information about these reports areavailable at https://www.all4ed.org/files. or by visiting the Alliance’s website.
Check to see if your community is listed and then show the findings to your federal and state representatives and to members of your business community. Maybe this will stimulate a discussion on the implementation of cutting funding for education.