What's at Stake
The best economic development strategy in a community's toolbox lies in improving high school graduationrates and supporting students to work toward earning two and four-year degrees.
- The higher the level of educational attainment, the greater the lifetime earnings.
- More businesses will flock to communities with a strong workforce.
- Families will want to live in communities with high performing schools.
In Dona Ana County, 1 out of every 3 students drops out of school.
The consequences of that decision are devastating for them, their families, and their community for the rest of their lives. Economically, they will fall farther and farther behind their peers who graduate and pursue college degrees by anywhere from $7,500 to $24,600 in additional annual income.
The ripple of impacts that occur when a dropout occurs are profound. Students who choose to dropout are more likely to be:
- Unemployed
- In poor health
- Have an almost 10-year shorter life expectancy
- In poverty
- Twice as likely to slip into poverty in a single year
- On public assistance
- Single parents of children who also dropout
- Eight time more likely to be in jail
- One-third as likely to vote
- Will lose between $260,000-$1 million in lifetime income in comparison to their peers who stayed in school
When a community suffers from a high number of high school dropouts, the business community experiences:
- An unqualified employment pool
- Higher employee turnover
- Higher taxation to support social programs that fund dependence
The community feels the effects in their economic development efforts:
- Limits new business
- Limits long-term infrastructure growth
The local and national economy takes a devastating hit it simply cannot afford:
- The average cost of a dropout on society is between $250,000 and $450,000.
- A weaker tax base
- Nationally, 2007 dropouts cost the nation’s economy $329 billion in additional lifetime income; $50 billion a year in state and federal income taxes.
The bottom line is, to build the individual wealth (incomes) of the community, youth need to be encouraged to stay in school, graduate, and aim for a minimum of a two-year college degree or career certification.
With so much at stake, The Bridge and its network of partners and parallel initiatives has adopted the same motto that guides students in the state's first Early College High School -- "Failure is not an option."
