CHOICES Champion
The CHOICES Champion brings you news and information about the CHOICES program, management tips, case studies and more. We welcome your suggestions, submissions and comments, which can be sent to info@choices.org or to your primary CHOICES contact.
CHOICES NEWS:
Study Finds High Rate of Imprisonment Among Dropouts |
New York Times, October 8, 2009
On any given day, about one in every 10 young male high school dropouts is in jail or juvenile detention, compared with one in 35 young male high school graduates, according to a new study of the effects of dropping out of school in an America where demand for low-skill workers is plunging.
“The dropout rate is driving the nation’s increasing prison population, and it’s a drag on America’s economic competitiveness,” said Marc H. Morial, the former New Orleans mayor who is president of the National Urban League, one of the groups in the coalition that commissioned the report. “This report makes it clear that every American pays a cost when a young person leaves school without a diploma.”
READ FULL NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE
READ STUDY
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CHOICES MANAGEMENT TIP OF THE MONTH
When Dropping Out Becomes a Sticky Situation
Bridget Bailey, a CHOICES Presenter with the Hammond Chamber of Commerce in Hammond, Louisiana, came up with a clever way to bring home the dropout message. During the Money Management exercise she asked students to name the things they would want to buy if they too had a job and an apartment. Each item (cell phone, play station, clothing etc.) was written on a sticky note and stuck to either their own or the pretend dropout’s shirt. After the bills were paid, the items that could not be paid for were removed, crumpled and thrown away. There was quite a response when one “drop out” lost his cell phone and each student whose item was discarded felt a strong sense of personal loss.
Congrats on creating a sticky situation for your students, Bridget!
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CHOICES FIELD REPORT
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Hammond Chamber of Commerce Launches Ambitious First Week of CHOICES Delivery |
Speaking of Hammond…Bridget’s CHOICES Program Manager, Carl Herrick, launched one of the most ambitious CHOICES program sites in recent history. Representing the Hammond Chamber of Commerce in Hammond, Louisiana, Carl planned and executed a program launch with the objective of training 20 Presenters to deliver CHOICES to 1500 students in 60 classes in 8 schools the week of September 21, 2009. How did it go?
Read a blow-by blow “diary” from Carl and three of his Presenters as they kicked off their first two days of CHOICES.
Read the Hammond Daily Star article about this the Hammond Chamber’s Program. |
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The Dropout Epidemic
- 7,000 teens become high school dropouts every school day
- High correlation with being jobless, homeless & in prison
- Earn $260,000 less than H.S. graduates over lifetime
- Cost nation $209,000 each for healthcare, welfare and crime
- We incur $1.5 billion in future losses every school day
The CHOICES Response
- Personal empowerment & personal responsibility
- Connect school to the future
- Nearly 1,000 teens served every school day
- 1,800 community volunteers in 46 states
- Cost of less than $5 per teen
The CHOICES Impact
- Over 5 million served since 1985
- 88% approval rating from students
- 97% approval rating from teachers
- 9% increase in positive engagement coincident with CHOICES
- 9% decrease in negative or non-engagement
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