ABSTRACT
This book was written with the students of our nation's struggling economic demographic in mind. We have lost, possibly forever, the solid manufacturing jobs that once sustained working-class families and provided a decent life even for students who dropped out of high school. Although graduation rates are at their highest, schools with high poverty still have relatively low graduation rates. For example, our on-time graduation rate is the highest it has been since this data has been recorded, yet we fell short of accreditation due to this category alone. Educators must continue to address dropout rates because students who do not finish high school in today's world are almost guaranteed a life of poverty, which will be perpetuated for their own children as well. We must find ways to keep students in school and engaged in programs that prepare them for college and twenty-first-century jobs.
