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Corporation News
For further information contact:
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Public Affairs
Adrienne Faraci 212-207-6299
DROPOUT RATES IN THE U.S. CONTINUE TO ENDANGER HIGH SCHOOL SUCCESS
(New
York, N.Y- April 12, 2006). Time magazine’s
current cover story on “Dropout Nation,” along with
two days of programming on the Oprah Winfrey Show, has put renewed
focus on the dropout problem plaguing America’s high schools.
As part of the work of Carnegie Corporation of New York in promoting
school district reform aimed at remaining and reinventing the high
school experience for American students, it became clear that one
obstacle to helping high schools provide high-quality education
geared to student success in an increasingly complex, knowledge-based
economy, is the high dropout rate.
A
recent Corporation Challenge Paper, High School Students At
Risk: The Challenge of Dropouts and Pushouts, provides a thoughtful
analysis of this crisis, explaining, for example, that the economic
impact on dropouts is severe: “Dropouts will more than likely
make little more than minimum wage their entire lives, while those
with a diploma and/or a few years of college will fare slightly
better, and those with a college degree will not only earn substantially
more in their lifetime, but will also be less affected by the whims
of the labor market.”
The
paper also addresses the pushout problem, noting “For years,
administrators have nudged troublesome and low-achieving students
out the door, but many fear that in recent years, the nudge has
become more of a shove, and students are now being pushed out of
school at alarming rates.”
The full text of the Challenge Paper is available on the Corporation’s
web site: http://www.carnegie.org/pdf/challenge_dropouts.pdf.
Carnegie
Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to
promote "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding."
As a grantmaking foundation, the Corporation seeks to carry out
Carnegie's vision of philanthropy, which he said should aim "to
do real and permanent good in the world." The Corporation's
capital fund, originally donated at a value of about $135 million,
had a market value of $2.2 billion on September 30, 2005. The Corporation
awards grants totaling more than $80 million a year in the areas
of education, international peace and security, international development
and strengthening U.S. democracy.
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