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By America Forward on Monday, December 17, 2007

In the struggle to improve schools in the poorest neighborhoods, experts say no problem is more challenging than the high school dropout rate. To tackle that problem, some educators focus on raising test scores. Others focus on the bricks-and-mortar of the school, repairing leaky roofs, and buying new computers. But every day young people continue to drop out of school for issues unrelated to how smart they are, how hard they work or how new their computers are. They drop out because they are bored. They drop out because they have an undiagnosed learning disability. They drop out because they need a job to help support their families. They don’t have clothes that fit, basic healthcare, enough good food to eat, or a stable home. And no one knows their name or really seems to care. So why bother staying in school when so many other forces are working against you?

School systems traditionally have depended on their own staff to connect with bored or troubled students and try to persuade them to stay. But the academic and administrative burdens felt by principals and teachers have left them with little time to focus on the students needlessly falling through the cracks. Even for those who have the time, it’s hard to access the appropriate services. These services tend to be uncoordinated, located all over town, and most important, unconnected to the place where most children and staff spend much of their time—schools.

This is where Communities In Schools provides such a simple yet innovative approach to keeping kids in school. Profiled in Jay Matthews’ recent story in The Washington Post, Communities In Schools has gained a national reputation for reducing dropout rates. Based in Alexandria, Virginia the organization has nearly 200 affiliates in 27 states, reaching more than a million students in 3,400 schools. By bringing resources, services, parents, and volunteers into a school, it creates a community of caring adults for the kids.

When the presidential candidates talk about education, they most often talk about reforming No Child Left Behind legislation, promoting charter schools, and teacher pay. While these are significant, they are not the only issues. The notion of a caring adult in a kid’s life—someone who knows her name, knows if she needs help with math or needs a new pair of shoes, and knows how to bring her parents back to school—is so basic and so important. Doesn’t every kid deserve one?

Posted in Education, Innovation