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 There are more than 1 million American high school students who drop out every year. Statistically, that"s about one every 29 seconds or 6,000 who drop out every school
day. Dropouts are more likely than high school graduates to be
unemployed, in poor health, living in poverty, in prison, on public
assistance, or single parents with children who also drop out of high
school. Scary stuff no? Why is this happening?
To sort this out, policymakers, non-profits, media and
business leaders will participate in the "National Summit on America"s
Silent Epidemic at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade
Center on May 9, in Washington, D.C. The day-long event will be spearheaded by
Civic Enterprises, the National Governors Association (NGA), MTV, TIME,
and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Experts and innovators will come together with elected officials, policymakers, educators and students to identify concrete steps for local, state and federal policymakers to help more students finish high school and be prepared for college and the workforce. Current research will be examined about the causes of the dropout problem and effective interventions to increase the number of students who graduate ready for college, career and life. The summit also will unveil a major new study about the perspectives and roles of parents in addressing the dropout crisis.
"There is a high school dropout epidemic in America. The public is now aware that almost one third of all public high school students fail to graduate from high school with their class, said John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic Enterprises.
MTV News will provide a digital broadcast of highlights from the summit, giving Americas youth the opportunity to view and comment on the summits proceedings with their own perspectives about the issue.
We are doing the youth of our country a grave disservice by failing to prepare them for college or employment, let alone the proper tools to even graduate from high school, said Christina Norman, President of MTV. This is a situation that can be corrected and we are proud to join our partners in a summit to further build awareness of the challenges and solutions to this national crisis.
During the summit, THINK MTV also will introduce the Dropout Chronicles, a new documentary capturing the compelling stories of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who face the prospect of not graduating from high school. The documentary will depict how young people from similar backgrounds make different choices about their education and how varied interventions by parents, schools and other factors can impact the outcome of those choices.
The May Summit is designed to provide a more in-depth discussion about how individuals can work together to address these issues. Don't wait til then - voice your opinion on the subject with us today in the comments section of this article!
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