2A
NEWS^e Charlotte ^002
Thursday, November 2, 2006
House panel
hosts forum
on dropouts
Charlotte Get your message across.
Continued from page 1A
of the young people of North
Carolina.”
North Carolina’s gradua
tion rate is 66 percent,
according to Education Week
magazine. Among black
males, the graduation rate is
49 percent. During the 2004-
05 academic year, nearly 1 of
every 20 N. C. high school stu
dents dropped out, according
to the Annual Dropout Event
Report to the State Board of
Elections in March. Ihe
board’s chairman, Howard
Lee, wants lawmakers to
raise the compulsory age law,
which now allows students to
drop out at 16.
North Carolina ranks 45th
among the 50 states in the
percentage of ninth-graders
who graduate four years later
with 41 percent going on to
college and 19 percent gradu
ating with a degree, accord
ing to the National Center for
Pubhc Policy and Higher
Education
Dropouts also impact the
state’s economy A high school
dropout has less than 50 per
cent chance of landing a job;
for African Americans, the
percentage drops to 25 per-
I— 1 cent. The jobs
I I taken by
I dropouts also
earn less than
half of what
they did 20
years ago, and
* studies have
Wright shown a lack
of education
correlates to crime and wel
fare dependency
“Our state’s dropout num
bers are unacceptable,” said
Rep. Thomas Wright (D-New
Hanover), co-chair of the com
mittee. ‘We need to find out
why our students are leaving
school and how to keep them
there.”
Corrections & clarifications
The Oct. 19 Charlotte Post Best supplement misidentified the
parents of the Tap Senior and runner-up. Patrick and Helene
Beach are the parents of Nicole Beach. Donald and Verna Wade
are parents of Donnarae Wade.
Ifyou spot a factual error in The Post, call Herbert White at (704) 376-
0496.
tKljc Cljarlotte IPoiSt
wvvw.thecharlottepost.com
JUSTICE DOESN’T JUST HAPPEN!
Keep Q
JUSTICE pATRICmm
TIMMONS-
GOODSON
SUPREME COURT
• The ONLY African American on the N.C. Supreme Court
• The last three African Americans who ran for Supreme Court lost.
We cannot allow this to happen this electioni
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on the N.C. Supreme Court.
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