Diplomas Count

This week I was meeting with the United Way's Virgil H. Carr Society , under the leadership of Walter Douglas of Avis Ford and Judge Damon Keith of US Court of Appeals --6th Circuit. This team of volunteers are working to ensure we help close the truancy gap by piloting new efforts.

The research on truancy is clear and compelling. Simply, when kids stay in school --- good things happen. When they don't attend school, bad things happen.

One just has to take a look at the national map of graduation rates to see this isn't just a regional issue, but a national one. In a recent USA Today article, the graduation rates for major cities were listed ---- putting Detroit Schools dead last at a graduation rate of 21.7 % --- with the national average at nearly 70%. While there continues to be debate of how graduation rates are calculated, the end result still stands: we have work to do.

The cost of not graduating costs society billions in lost taxes and spending on social programs. For example:

• Over a lifetime, an 18-year old who does not complete high school earns about $260,000 less than an individual with a high school diploma, and contributes about $60,000 less in federal and state income taxes;
• Individuals with a high school diploma live longer, have better indicators of general health, and are less likely to use publicly financed health insurance programs than high school dropouts.
• If all those receiving assistance who are high school dropouts instead had a high school diploma, the result would be a total cost savings for federal welfare spending, food stamps and public housing of $7.9 billion to $10.8 billion a year;
• And finally, college graduates were nearly three times as likely to vote as Americans without a high school diploma.

The Virgil H. Carr Society School Attendance Initiative was developed to identify services gaps in selected areas, generate awareness of truancy as a societal issue threatening all of metro Detroit and to facilitate partnerships between area schools and public and private sector partners to address the problem. We are working with many partners, including the Skillman Foundation and Communities in Schools.

For those who are interested in getting involved, e-mail rebecca.slay@uwsem.org.