What is Communities In Schools of Omaha working to solve?

Dropping out of high school is related to a number of negative outcomes:*

• Median income of persons ages 18 through 67 who had not completed high school was $23,000 in 2008.
• Median income of persons ages 18 through 67 who completed their education with at least a high school credential, including a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, was approximately $42,000.
• A person with a at least a high school credential makes approximately $630,000 more over their lifetime than someone who did not complete high school.
  * Among adults ages 25 and older, a lower percentage of dropouts are in the labor force compared with adults who earned a high school credential.
• Among adults in the labor force, a higher percentage of dropouts are unemployed compared with adults who earned a high school credential.
• Dropouts ages 25 or older reported being in worse health than adults who are not dropouts, regardless of income.
• Dropouts make up disproportionately higher percentages of the nation’s prison and death row inmates.
• Comparing those who drop out of high school with those who complete high school, the average high school dropout is associated with costs to the economy of approximately $240,000 over his or her lifetime in terms of lower tax contributions, higher reliance on Medicaid and Medicare, higher rates of criminal activity, and higher reliance on welfare.

The Problem Exists Here

It’s easy to think the dropout problem is something that other cities have to deal with, not Omaha. One glance at a map shows how wrong this is.

There are many who never even make it to high school at all.

Communities In Schools of Omaha is working to make sure there are no more dropouts. The maps make clear that the problem primarily exists in East Omaha, however, it affects our entire community. Other organizations are working toward this same goal. What sets Communities In Schools apart is its model of providing a comprehensive range of community services, also known as integrated student services. This is done at very little cost – just $192 annually per student.

With our support, nationally, almost 97% of the students we serve remain in school. By investing a small amount now in our students, Communities In Schools of Omaha is preventing big costs later in the form of expenses on social welfare, unemployment, prison and wasted lives.

Read more about what we do or learn about the CIS model or CIS mission.

*Taken from: “Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972–2008″

Read the original post on Communities in Schools – Omaha here