| Americans have been warned that U.S. dominance in the world’s economy is fading because of the country’s poor educational performance. North Carolina falls in the bottom 10 states for the percentage of students graduating. During the 2006-07 school year, over 22,000 students in grades 9-12 dropped out of school in North Carolina. Dropouts cost North Carolina millions of dollars each year. The cost includes at least $169 million annually in taxes and public spending. High levels of poverty and low income housing have long been viewed as a stimulus to the increase in the number of high school dropouts. To address this issue, educators, policy makers, community and business leaders are examining ways to reduce the number of dropouts in every county. This... |
