African American Read-In
MLK Heritage Trip
Mentors and Scholars Program
Wellness Forum
Breast Cancer Program
Student Nurses Help Others During Break
SNA Systic Fibrosis Walk
HEHD Helps Reducing Student Drinking
National Dropout Prevention
National Dropout Prevention Leads the Way
When the Congress of the United States passed the No Child Left Behind Act, in 2001, it raised the nation’s awareness of the issue of dropout prevention. The Act focused attention on the problems in our schools, that not all children were being educated successfully and nationwide nearly one-third were dropping out even before receiving a high school diploma—this in a nation where most jobs of the 21st century were to require more than 12 years of education. In 1986, Clemson University recognized this problem and launched the National Dropout Prevention Center (NDPC) to address it. Today, Clemson’s National Dropout Prevention Center and its twenty years of work in this field has identified the solutions to the dropout crisis, and educators who want to make a difference are working with this Clemson-based resource center.
For the past two decades, the National Dropout Prevention Center has been leading the national discussion on dropout prevention and increasing the high school graduation rate. Through research studies, national and regional conferences, seminars, and institutes; legislative testimony; publications including two professional journals and multiple monographs written for educators, third-party evaluations and consultant activities, as well as its Web site (www.dropoutprevention.org), the NDPC has worked to help educators and community leaders at local and state levels confront this issue, one of the most crucial of our times.
The Problem
A quick look at the statistics shows that this is a major national issue and is also one of South Carolina’s most significant problems. Using the 9th grade enrollment as a baseline, and a cohort method of measurement, researchers put the state’s graduation rate at just 51%, the worst in the nation.
High school dropouts certainly have a huge impact on economic development. Students who drop out don’t just disappear. While a significant number go on to achieve a GED or high school diploma through adult education or other program, many show up on welfare rolls, in prison cells, and in unemployment lines. Some others become teen mothers and drug users. When they do find employment, they most often are in low-wage jobs. For most, their lives are negatively affected both socially and economically, with prospects for the future very dim. And the statistics show, their children tend to repeat the cycle.
Solutions
The NDPC has identified 15 Effective Strategies (sidebar) that have proven effectiveness in dropout prevention. None work in isolation; yet collectively they create positive student success. Some strategies are extremely cost effective, such as mentoring, service-learning, and community involvement, while others may require greater investments, such as use of educational technology. Investment in these strategies will help more young people graduate and be prepared for the future. These investments, whether financial or human capital, are valuable and contribute to a better prepared workforce.
The NDPC has been working in recent years in the policy arena of South Carolina’s approach to stemming this tide. Involvement of NDPC staff with the South Carolina Department of Education on a Truancy Prevention program has resulted in a series of publications that can help districts deal with the multifaceted issue of truancy. The NDPC staff also serve on state committees of the new Education and Economic Development Act of South Carolina. The hope is for an increased graduation rate with each student having significant skills contributing to the economic growth of South Carolina. The Act significantly restructures South Carolina’s schools to engage students earlier and more in depth through curriculum content organized within career clusters and has a clear focus on increasing the graduation rate with students having the skills necessary to succeed in life and contribute to their own economic growth as well as that of South Carolina.
The NDPC has learned over the years that stemming the tide of school dropouts and increasing graduation rates are both a state and a national issue; it is also an international challenge. This Clemson center leads the way in this wider arena as well: NDPC’s International Journal on School Disaffection has become a well-regarded forum for the common concerns and solutions worldwide to this intractable problem.
When you see an improvement in graduation rates in the next decade, you will know that our college’s NPDC, now celebrating its 20th anniversary, will have played a significant role.