Combating dropouts in the Kansas City area

The all too common scene of an empty
classroom.  (AP Photo/Diego Giudice)

Standing restlessly in an alphabetical, single file line of your classmates. Looking anxiously in the crowd for your family before you take to the stage. Carefully anticipating your steps to avoid tripping on your freshly starched gown. Checking the straightness of your cap before hearing your name called with confidence and urgency. Finally, climbing the stage, shaking the extended hand and seizing your diploma with pride. Graduating high school is an accomplishment that millions dream of, but sadly, many are failing to accomplish, the pride of such achievement remaining beyond their grasp.

With all the attention being paid to restructuring the Kansas City School District, it’s no wonder that some of the most pressing issues concerning Kansas City’s youth are being overlooked. In addition to considering where our children are being educated, it is imperative that we likewise consider their ability to complete that education.

In 2007, twenty Missouri schools were proclaimed to be “Dropout Factories” wherein nearly sixty percent of incoming freshmen fail to remain in school through their senior year. In an attempt to combat the impediments caused by the failure to complete high school on both the individual and the community, the City of Kansas City sought a grant from the America’s Promise Alliance.

Founded by General Colin Powell and chaired by his wife Alma, the America’s Promise Alliance seeks to address the national crisis of high school drop outs by working to ensure five promises: Caring Adults, Safe Places, A Healthy Start, An Effective Education and Opportunities to Help Others. The America’s Promise Alliance has launched their so-called “15 in 5 game plan” which aims to better the lives of the 15 million at-risk young people across the nation through the five promises. Not only does the Alliance lend assistance to communities in need, it also provides examples of successful communities. Through the Promise Places, 100 Best Communities, Featured Communities, and Promise Zones, the Alliance recognizes notable, multi-sector, community wide efforts to support our nation’s youth.

The state of the Kansas City School District coupled with the genuine concern of members of city hall and the business community at large succeeded in acquiring a grant to address the issue of youth dropouts. In late September, the Office of the City Manager will convene a Dropout Prevention Summit. In addition to engaging the community and enumerating their role in prevention, the summit seeks to bring home the plight of local dropouts through a documentary detailing the struggle of a local high school dropout. The producers and contributors are hopeful that greater awareness combined with a sense of responsibility will hold the key to reclaiming the city’s youth.

In Emile, Jean Jacques Rousseau states “plants are shaped by cultivation and men by education. .. We are born weak, we need strength; we are born totally unprovided, we need aid; we are born stupid, we need judgment. Everything we do not have at our birth and which we need when we are grown is given us by education.” As members of the same community, we have a vested interest in strengthening not only ourselves but also those around us. By ensuring that the youth obtain the necessity of education, we secure not only a more prosperous future for them, but likewise ourselves.

For more info: 

Kansas City Dropout Prevention Summit