Dear Friend:

June is graduation month! Perhaps, like me, you celebrated the graduation of a special young person. Last week, I attended what will be the first of many graduations for my young daughter. At the very special age of five, she proudly completed her pre-school adventures and now moves on to Kindergarten. While seemingly small in the big picture of things, PreK graduation is still an important accomplishment. You may have noticed that I confidently stated that this is the first of many graduations for my daughter. How fortunate I am, as most of you are, to be in a position to look forward and see a future high school graduate, a future college degree and maybe more.

But graduation is not a vision of the future for many of our young people today. The high school dropout rate in the School District of Philadelphia is 44%. That is nearly one in two young people failing to graduate from high school. Breaking that down to dollars and cents, the median annual earnings of a high school dropout in Philadelphia is $21,494 with fully one-third living in poverty. Compare that with a high school graduate who can expect to earn $1.2 million more over the course of their lifetime and the college graduate who will earn $2.1 million more over their lifetime than a drop out.

The dropout rate doesn’t just affect the young person who drops out; it affects all us. From their reduced contribution to the tax base, to a workforce not prepared for 21st century jobs the high level of high school drop-outs in the region is costly for all of us. According to a report from Fight Crime, Invest in Kids, if we increased graduation rates by 10%, we would reduce violent crimes by 20%. That would translate to 75 fewer murders and 2000 fewer assaults annually in Philadelphia. Who wouldn’t want to see those numbers become a reality for our region?

But we can work together to solve this problem. Nearly half of the young people who drop out can be identified in 8th grade when they exhibit problems with grades, attendance and behavior. United Way is working to identify those young people early so that we can intervene and get them back on track for graduation. We support afterschool and weekend programs that provide academic and social supports and intensive mentoring programs that provide young people with the caring presence of an adult in their lives. These proven solutions reverse the tide and are key components to insuring that each and every young person in our region stays in high school and is prepared for the next phase of their lives.

The epidemic that is the high school dropout rate is a challenge that can be turned around. Each and every young person in our community deserves the same opportunity to achieve their dreams. For our children, the future has promise and opportunity. Do these children deserve anything less?

Sincerely,

Jill M. Michal
President and CEO