Georiga's Harmful Epidemic

Art by Haley Bossert | VOX Staff

By Haley Bossert | VOX Staff

People who knew Sharon never imagined she would wind up a high school dropout. The 17 year-old daughter of an Alpharetta preacher, who asked VOX not to use her full name, got pregnant last year and dropped out of school to raise her son.

“I never saw myself here," says the former honor roll student and varsity athlete. "I would have never expected this is where I would be at 17. Instead of being yelled at by a teacher, I’m being screamed at by my baby.”

Chelsea is not alone. Only 56 percent of Georgia students are graduating each year, Education Week magazine reported last month in a new study. The study, "Diplomas Count," ranked Georgia 48th in the nation for high school graduation rates. According to the Truancy Intervention Project (TIP), a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to protect students from school failure, a student drops out of school every nine seconds of every school day in the United States.

Focusing on Georgia
There are many reasons to explain why Georgia has one of the nation’s lowest graduation rates. Experts say that poverty, racism and inadequate resources contribute to lowering Georgia's graduation rate.

Three essential factors contribute to Georgia's low graduation rate, says Neil Shorthouse, the president of Communities in Schools, a community-based organization helping kids succeed in school. "We never overcame racial discrimination," he says. "For two centuries, people have not valued education for all people, especially African-Americans and Indians. [Also,] if children are not encouraged to do well in school by their parents and teachers, then they will not try to excel with their schoolwork. [Finally,] as long as kids don't have a feeling that they can achieve great things, then they will not achieve a lot. Society needs to overcome poverty of spirit."

Tonya Malone, the TIP programs manager, notes that Georgia’s large rural areas make it harder for students to get to and stay in school. “It is not as important to get to school when they have to work to assist their families,” she says.

Another barrier to graduation for many Georgia students is poor economic status. According to the U.S. Census, Georgia is the nation's thirteenth poorest state. Students living in economically depressed areas are more likely to attend under-funded, struggling schools, says Gaye Smith, the executive director of Family Connection Partnership.

According to some students, another part of the problem is the Georgia High School Graduation Test. The test is made up of language arts, math, social studies, and science sections. Ashley, a former DeKalb County student who had to retake the test twice in order to graduate, says, “The science section is extremely difficult, which leads many people to fail.” Since 1999, students must pass all parts of the test in order to graduate from high school. Previously, passing the science section had not been mandatory. Students are allowed to take the test up to four times.

Sweeping across the Nation
According to a 2005 report by Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, the dropout outbreak in America mainly affects young people who are poor, minority children attending inner-city public schools. However, the problem is not unique to that demographic. Nearly one-third of American high school students failed to graduate in 2005.

The Manhattan Institute also reports that students who drop out are more likely than their peers to wind up unemployed, living in poverty, in prison, on death row, receiving public assistance, divorced, or single parents. TIP confirms that 88 percent of prison inmates in Georgia are high school dropouts.
About half of dropouts leave school after their freshman year, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. Some students cite the heavy workload as part of the problem; others say they feel disconnected from their peers and teachers. Three students interviewed for this article said they felt hopeless and doomed to failure, because they struggled with their schoolwork in middle school and did not receive adequate help. A Fulton County guidance counselor says that metro area school districts focus so much on college-bound students that struggling kids receive little attention and often fall further behind.

Struggling to Succeed
Students often do not graduate due to dislike for school, poor grades, too much schoolwork, conflicting work schedules, lack of companions and for family obligations, reports the National Center for Educational Statistics. According to the U.S. Department of Education, almost one-third of girls cited pregnancy as their reason for dropping out.

In a 2006 study by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, an organization whose goal is to bring awareness to important health and educational issues, two-thirds of dropouts said they would have graduated if they had been encouraged to work harder. Also, less than half of the surveyed teens said they were able to discuss personal problems with teachers and counselors. Few said they had an "involved parent" who encouraged them to complete high school, but 70 percent reported that their parents got involved when they threatened to leave high school.

Fighting for a Bright Future
TIP offers support to more than 400 students a year who are struggling with school. Through TIP, students can meet and find comfort in other students who have struggled with school or have dropped out. Lonely and angry students call the agency’s teen chat line for support.

Malone advises people who know struggling students to “stage an early intervention. Gather the student’s parents, counselors and friends and find out what’s up.”

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has implemented a new program that places a graduation coach in high schools. Shorthouse explains, "There is a coach that identifies every student who might dropout. Then, the graduation counselor works in the school and community to make sure that every student graduates. . . there are 158 coaches in Georgia."

Warning Others to Stay in School
But Chelsea had no such help. She is now living in a small trailer with her boyfriend, who also dropped out of school, and the couple's son. The family gets on by the meager wages from her boyfriend's job at a local manufacturing plant. Chelsea stays home, caring for the baby, and works the night shift at a gas station. She advises students who are thinking about dropping out to “stay in school. As a high school drop out, there are little job offers. I could either work at Shell or work at McDonald’s. Listen to your parents and stay in school!”

Haley is a junior at Roswell High School.