Editorial: Education

The following is an editorial from FOX6 WBRC-TV General Manager Lou Kirchen, first aired on Tuesday, October 9, 2012:

If you want your neighborhood to be safe, then take an active role in supporting education. A 2009 Northeastern University Study found that approximately one in 10 male high school dropouts between the ages of 16 and 24 were incarcerated. With high school graduates that number goes down to one in 35.

Twenty-four percent of Alabama children are living in poverty…we rank 39th in the nation. That's just unacceptable. How do we change that? Education is the key. We must keep our children in school. The average high school drop-outs earn less than half the paycheck of a high school graduate.

Alabama ranks 39th in the nation in preventing teenage births. How do we change that…by insisting all of our children have access to a good education…no matter where they live. High school dropouts are four times more likely to live below the poverty line.

As of 2011, Alabama ranked 43rd in our high school graduation rate…that represents only 69% of children entering ninth grade. What about the remaining 31%? What does their future hold, and what will it cost you and me? The Alabama Department of Education and dedicated educators throughout our state are innovating and working hard to improve our graduation rates. But they must have the involvement and support of parents, grandparents, businesses …all of us… to make a real difference.

What do you think?

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