Problem Definition
A child in today’s society attendance in school has become scarce, and we are filling my street corners and jails. The bill I have chosen to track is house bill 19 Dropout Deterrent Act, enact. This bill intends to revise the mandatory age a student must be enrolled in school form sixth and sixteenth birthday to fifth and seventeenth birthday. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution Georgia graduation rate was at an 80% high, until the new formula came out to calculate the dropout rate. The U.S. Department of Education is now requiring all states to publicly report high school graduation rates using the new four year calculation. Now a student is counted from ninth grade until they receive their diploma in four years, anything beyond the first four years of high school is not in the graduation percentage. This new formula dropped Georgia to 67.4% one of the nation’s lowest on, besides Nevada and Mexico. Data from the class of 2011 there were 30,751 students who left school without a diploma. Now, with the new calculations everyone is alarmed which, we a state should have been worried about our children education they are our next generation.
The old method of calculating the dropout rates only counted those students who declared they were dropping out, which rarely occurs. There are accusations that the numbers and documents were falsified in 2010 to reach the 80% graduation rate that has now plumaged. The No Child Left Behind Act was a great idea, but was not carried out in the accurate manner. Georgia vowed to raise the graduation rate 5% each year up until 2014. I believe the emphasis was more on the numbers than the students who are the key people in this situation. Leaders of our children education were blind-sided by promises they were trying to uphold. Before tracking this bill I would think that it was a particular county or lower income area that had the high dropout rates, but instead it is all over Georgia. Georgia is ranked 44th in the nation in graduation rates.
Several people were upset about the new model that is being used to calculate the dropout rate but, instead we should be worried about our children. More people are worried about how it makes Georgia looks as a state but we continue to lag in grads. The graduation gap in Georgia is wider for boys and minorities. Fifty percent of boys graduated compared to sixty-one percent of girls and forty-six black students graduated compared to 63 percent of white students. No mattered we are using the old model or Ed’s week model we are still lagging behind in education because of our high dropout rates (Carroll, 2006).
In several cases the dropout rates in schools are not counted correctly. Twice as many Georgia high school students in the class of 2011 dropped out than the state of Georgia reported. The reporters used open-record requests to double check the states numbers (Vock, 2012). Miss counting these students makes the schools numbers look great, but it is losing our children within the system that was created to help them succeed not cover up their faults.
University system chancellor Tom Meredith, states “somehow or another we need to change the culture that has bred a 50 percent dropout rate” He firmly feels that we need to come up with a plan that will entice children to learn graduate high school and move on to post-secondary education (Athens-Banner, 2003). When leaving school children are not thinking of the outcome of their actions two years from now. Sixty-five percent of jobs now require at least a high school diploma. Funding for the systems public service efforts is dwindling as the economy see the issue, but is approaching it in the incorrect way (Meredith, 2003). A student begins to be groomed as early as Pre-K, Georgia offers free preschool to more than half its 100,000 four year olds. The idea is to prepare the child early enough to reduce dropout rates, social problems, and boost the states academic standings. The number of children in head start has increased 65% since 1990. Georgia took an extra step being the only state offering free preschool to all four year-olds no matter their background. Children who attended pre-k began to test higher than the students that never attended preschool (Spaid, 1996).
Everyone’s answer is the same we must fix the education system, but how do we fix a problem when no one knows what is broken. We continuously come up with solutions to improve the dropout rates, which are not implemented correctly. When trying to solve this issue we should want to see results and improvements. Dubose Porter vowed to fix the education system four years ago, which was hard because he had to undo seven years of damage Republicans had created to public education. Porter wanted to pull Georgia from the bottom 40’s in the national education to the top 20’s (Fetter, 2009). It is almost impossible for someone to clean up the educational system that has been going in the wrong direction for seven years. This shows you that the Republicans do not care about students who are receiving public education as much as those children who are in private schools. Legislators’ actions show a person a lot about their character, and why some laws die and never become a bill. Several of our leaders are trying to make a change to improve education and dropout rates, but without legislators and laws to assist the effort goes nowhere
Depending on where you are raised school may not be a priority. I grew up in a low-income community where most parents did not know where their children next meal was coming. In order to keep a roof over their heads they had to work a job that took them away from the children most of the day. The oldest of the siblings would have to take care of the younger children, until mom got off work. The oldest child eventually stopped going to school around time we had to take the Georgia Graduation Test. All because they had missed so much from class, trying to look after their siblings they knew they would fail. There are other children who are being raised by non-custodial parent’s aunts, uncles, and grandparents who are not paying close attention to their school attendance. In 2010, PBS did a report on education “Mapping High School Dropout Rates” it showed the dropout rate in the U.S. was declining, nut the major challenge was 40% of minority students fail to graduate, but it is not just the students in the poor communities that are suffering. Studies also showed in 2001, the U.S. graduation rate for class 1998 was seventy-one percent, 78% white students, 56% black students, and 54% latino students. Georgia had the lowest rate followed by North Dakota, Florida, and Washington D.C. (Green, 2002). This was shocked to see Washington D.C. on this list of low graduation rates.
Georgia statistics shows the projected graduation dropout rate in 2009 would be 81.0 for Georgia. The numbers consist of white males 3.3, white females 2.8., black males 4.4, black females 4.6, latino males 5.3 and latino females 5.4. Statistics also shows the unemployment rates for this group in 2010, was 2,816 of which unemployed rate was 29.0 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). As a community, state, society we need to pay less attention to the numbers of students dropping out , and more attentions to the contributing factors or we will see more unemployment, increasing welfare rates, and overcrowded prisons.
When focusing on the dropout rates we must look at incoming freshman and are they enthused about the move to high school. It is an entire new environment to adjust to coming from middle school. High school can be harsh to new students, especially freshman because majority of the school is older. It is the place where the pressure is on about what you want to do for the rest of our life, because college is next. This is the stop where most students decide to dropout of school or stay to get an education. Ridgeland High school input a freshman academy to separate them from the upper classmen. This program dropped the detainment rate from 140 freshmen in 2004-05, to 69 freshmen in 2005-06 (Carroll, 2006). Academies put in place to better help freshman adjust is one more effort to decrease the dropout rates.
Dropout prevention is the key to house bill 19 we must create new ways, and fix the old ways to stop the vicious cycle of the dropout rates in Georgia. Before establishing any dropout prevention programs and interventions, it is important to assess student and school risks for school dropouts. School social workers can create dropout programs based on student, family, and school characteristics (Jozefowicz, 2008).
The old method of calculating the dropout rates only counted those students who declared they were dropping out, which rarely occurs. There are accusations that the numbers and documents were falsified in 2010 to reach the 80% graduation rate that has now plumaged. The No Child Left Behind Act was a great idea, but was not carried out in the accurate manner. Georgia vowed to raise the graduation rate 5% each year up until 2014. I believe the emphasis was more on the numbers than the students who are the key people in this situation. Leaders of our children education were blind-sided by promises they were trying to uphold. Before tracking this bill I would think that it was a particular county or lower income area that had the high dropout rates, but instead it is all over Georgia. Georgia is ranked 44th in the nation in graduation rates.
Several people were upset about the new model that is being used to calculate the dropout rate but, instead we should be worried about our children. More people are worried about how it makes Georgia looks as a state but we continue to lag in grads. The graduation gap in Georgia is wider for boys and minorities. Fifty percent of boys graduated compared to sixty-one percent of girls and forty-six black students graduated compared to 63 percent of white students. No mattered we are using the old model or Ed’s week model we are still lagging behind in education because of our high dropout rates (Carroll, 2006).
In several cases the dropout rates in schools are not counted correctly. Twice as many Georgia high school students in the class of 2011 dropped out than the state of Georgia reported. The reporters used open-record requests to double check the states numbers (Vock, 2012). Miss counting these students makes the schools numbers look great, but it is losing our children within the system that was created to help them succeed not cover up their faults.
University system chancellor Tom Meredith, states “somehow or another we need to change the culture that has bred a 50 percent dropout rate” He firmly feels that we need to come up with a plan that will entice children to learn graduate high school and move on to post-secondary education (Athens-Banner, 2003). When leaving school children are not thinking of the outcome of their actions two years from now. Sixty-five percent of jobs now require at least a high school diploma. Funding for the systems public service efforts is dwindling as the economy see the issue, but is approaching it in the incorrect way (Meredith, 2003). A student begins to be groomed as early as Pre-K, Georgia offers free preschool to more than half its 100,000 four year olds. The idea is to prepare the child early enough to reduce dropout rates, social problems, and boost the states academic standings. The number of children in head start has increased 65% since 1990. Georgia took an extra step being the only state offering free preschool to all four year-olds no matter their background. Children who attended pre-k began to test higher than the students that never attended preschool (Spaid, 1996).
Everyone’s answer is the same we must fix the education system, but how do we fix a problem when no one knows what is broken. We continuously come up with solutions to improve the dropout rates, which are not implemented correctly. When trying to solve this issue we should want to see results and improvements. Dubose Porter vowed to fix the education system four years ago, which was hard because he had to undo seven years of damage Republicans had created to public education. Porter wanted to pull Georgia from the bottom 40’s in the national education to the top 20’s (Fetter, 2009). It is almost impossible for someone to clean up the educational system that has been going in the wrong direction for seven years. This shows you that the Republicans do not care about students who are receiving public education as much as those children who are in private schools. Legislators’ actions show a person a lot about their character, and why some laws die and never become a bill. Several of our leaders are trying to make a change to improve education and dropout rates, but without legislators and laws to assist the effort goes nowhere
Depending on where you are raised school may not be a priority. I grew up in a low-income community where most parents did not know where their children next meal was coming. In order to keep a roof over their heads they had to work a job that took them away from the children most of the day. The oldest of the siblings would have to take care of the younger children, until mom got off work. The oldest child eventually stopped going to school around time we had to take the Georgia Graduation Test. All because they had missed so much from class, trying to look after their siblings they knew they would fail. There are other children who are being raised by non-custodial parent’s aunts, uncles, and grandparents who are not paying close attention to their school attendance. In 2010, PBS did a report on education “Mapping High School Dropout Rates” it showed the dropout rate in the U.S. was declining, nut the major challenge was 40% of minority students fail to graduate, but it is not just the students in the poor communities that are suffering. Studies also showed in 2001, the U.S. graduation rate for class 1998 was seventy-one percent, 78% white students, 56% black students, and 54% latino students. Georgia had the lowest rate followed by North Dakota, Florida, and Washington D.C. (Green, 2002). This was shocked to see Washington D.C. on this list of low graduation rates.
Georgia statistics shows the projected graduation dropout rate in 2009 would be 81.0 for Georgia. The numbers consist of white males 3.3, white females 2.8., black males 4.4, black females 4.6, latino males 5.3 and latino females 5.4. Statistics also shows the unemployment rates for this group in 2010, was 2,816 of which unemployed rate was 29.0 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). As a community, state, society we need to pay less attention to the numbers of students dropping out , and more attentions to the contributing factors or we will see more unemployment, increasing welfare rates, and overcrowded prisons.
When focusing on the dropout rates we must look at incoming freshman and are they enthused about the move to high school. It is an entire new environment to adjust to coming from middle school. High school can be harsh to new students, especially freshman because majority of the school is older. It is the place where the pressure is on about what you want to do for the rest of our life, because college is next. This is the stop where most students decide to dropout of school or stay to get an education. Ridgeland High school input a freshman academy to separate them from the upper classmen. This program dropped the detainment rate from 140 freshmen in 2004-05, to 69 freshmen in 2005-06 (Carroll, 2006). Academies put in place to better help freshman adjust is one more effort to decrease the dropout rates.
Dropout prevention is the key to house bill 19 we must create new ways, and fix the old ways to stop the vicious cycle of the dropout rates in Georgia. Before establishing any dropout prevention programs and interventions, it is important to assess student and school risks for school dropouts. School social workers can create dropout programs based on student, family, and school characteristics (Jozefowicz, 2008).