Alaska high school drop out rate highest in the nation
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March 22, 2010 • Bridget Weiss, Guest Contributor
Filed under 2009-2010
The drop out rate in Alaska is the highest in the United States. About 38% of today’s freshmen will not have a high school diploma in ten years. Over the past ten years, the drop out rate has been rising. Around 11.4% of students drop out between 11th and 12th grade. The drop out rate of sophomores alone is around 6.2%.
Some of the reasons teens listed for dropping out were: the classes were not interesting enough; they missed many days of school; they were not motivated to do anything; or they had to leave in order to get a job. Another cause that usually garners a lot of attention is teen pregnancy.
Jade Jones was a senior in high school when she learned that she was going to become a parent. Five months after this discovery, she dropped out.
“Dropping out of high school was the worst thing I could have done for myself and my child,” stated Jones.
Jones is now 24 and she is still living with her parents because she cannot afford to live on her own. Jones has been working a minimum wage job for three years trying to make ends meet.
“It’s so hard dropping my little girl off at daycare everyday and going to a job I hate just to have enough money to feed the both of us,” Jones mentioned.
On average, a high school graduate makes about $25,000 more a year than a drop out would; hence, a high school diploma comes with extended opportunities.
“I wish I could have stayed in high school, it would have made life so much easier. I’m in the process of getting my GED now, but it’s very stressful with everything else I have going on in my life,” Jones finished.
