High H.S. dropout rate turning into a crisis.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - High School - Brief article

On the heels of a national report which reveals that more than 1,200,000 students will not graduate this year and that U.S. schools are failing students by not preparing them for work and life, Strong American Schools Campaign Chairman Roy Romer is urging presidential candidates to talk about how to solve our declining K-12 education situation.

"Our nation is asleep at the switch," he contends. "At a time when more than half the jobs in this country require education beyond high school, only 70% of our kids are even graduating from high school, and many lack adequate skills to get additional training or education to help them succeed. To make matters worse, unless there is a dramatic shift, more than 12,000,000 students will drop out over the next decade, resulting in a three trillion dollar blow to our nation's economy.

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"Many decisions about education are local but, taken as a whole...