How to get high school dropouts into 'recovery'? Ideas bloom across US.
Innovative programs across the US are finding some success in reengaging high school dropouts. They strive to target 'disconnected' youths – those not in school and not working, who are a costly burden for taxpayers.
Kassandra Diaz, age 19 (l.), and Medina Phillips, 21, who dropped out of high school, study at the Boston Re-Engagement Center to earn high school diplomas.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Cydmarie Quinones dropped out of Boston's English High School in May 2011 – senior year. "It was the usual boyfriend story," she says. "You put so much attention into your relationship ... that it kind of messes up the whole school thing."
‘I have to do it for myself and for everybody else.... I have to get my diploma.’ – High school dropout Cydmarie Quinones
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Edgar Rodriguez graduated from the College, Career, & Technology Academy (CCTA) in Pharr, Texas. The program was designed to motivate dropouts to not only finish high school, but also to take community-college courses.
Six classes shy of the credits she needed, she thought that she could skip getting a diploma and still find a college that would train her to be a medical assistant.
"I've been doing nothin' for a whole year," Ms. Quinones says. Actually, she's been running into walls – spending hundreds of dollars on in-person and online programs that made false promises to get her a high school credential. Meanwhile, her friends graduated