Education Law

Reducing Dropouts: ?Dollars mean diplomas and diplomas mean dollars.?

So spoke Governor Bob Wise of the Alliance for Excellent Education (AEE) at the release of their new study on the economic benefits of reducing the dropout rate in the nation?s 45 largest metropolitan areas. 

?The Economic Benefits from Halving the Dropout Rate? measures on a city-by-city basis the growth in jobs, home ownership, levels of spending and investment, and car sales that will result from cutting the high school dropout rate in half. 

Nationally, the study estimates that halving the dropout rate of Class of 2008 could have resulted in: $4.1 billion in increased earning, $2.9 billion in additional savings and investments, $10.5 billion in increased home sales, $536 million in increased tax revenue and 30,000 new jobs.

The report includes detailed findings for many of NSBA’s CUBE districts, including: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Columbus, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Fresno, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City (MO), Las Vegas, Los Angeles-Long Beach, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York City, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Philadelphia, Phoenix-Mesa, Portland (OR), Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco-Oakland, San Jose, Seattle, Tucson, Tulsa, Virginia Beach, Washington, DC, and Wichita.  See the city-by-city results . 

AEE partnered with and State Farm Insurance to develop the model because from the business perspective, investment in education has an impact on the economy that is undeniable.  America?s Promise also participated in the study, noting that the U.S. Department of Education has already embarked on an ambitious education agenda.  BoardBuzz agrees that a robust investment in education pays off for individuals, communities and the nation.

Is your school district in city one of the areas studied?  What do you think of the results?

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on January 13, 2010 (boomark / email).