Each year one-third of U.S. high school students fail to complete their studies. Of this number, nearly half belong to Black and Hispanic communities. Many of the students abandon their studies two years before completing high school.

This worrisome fact has been confirmed by the recent report, “Silent Epidemic, Perspectives on High School Dropouts,” by Civic Enterprises in association with Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The authors of the report are John M. Bridgeland, John J. Dilulio, Jr., and Karen Burke Morison.

Voices of those affected

Sandra Licon, a Harvard graduate and an expert on education, told Impacto that this is a study whose main value is to be "the first that presents the voices of those affected – that is, young people between the ages of 16 and 25 who have spoken out about the reasons they left high school.”

The study shows how the dropout pattern impacts the Latino community.

"The country loses almost 50 percent of Latino students who could contribute in various fields," said Licon. Many students make their own lives more difficult and also condemn themselves to poorly paid jobs, a life of poverty, dependency on public assistance, and in the worst of cases, end up in prison.

The reasons

There are many reasons for dropping out, including the policies of the educational system and parental responsibilities, Licon noted.

According to the study, 47 percent of those surveyed said their main reason for dropping out was that the classes were not interesting. Seven of every 10 (69%) said they were not motivated or inspired to work hard. Eighty percent said they spent one hour or less on doing their assignments in their homes, and 70 percent confessed that they could have graduated if they had tried.

The educator said it is important to pay attention to what educators call the three R's: academic rigor, positive relations with teachers and schools, and the relevance of the courses.

"If we do not change what is happening in schools throughout the country, the United States will soon become much less competitive," Licon said. "High schools are not working. Those who come out of them do not have the level of education needed for work and for enrolling in college. The educational system is not preparing our young people to compete on an international level in the twenty-first century."

Serious neglect

On the subject of parents' responsibilities, Licon said they are great, and she observes that paternal responsibility is extremely dynamic when the children are young.

"They visit the teachers and are interested in everything going on in the schools, but as the child gets older they distance themselves at the very time parents ought to be involved, because that is when the student is making personal life decisions. They need to know if the students are under good influences, if they are prepared to graduate, if they are prepared to go to college," she said, adding that 71 percent of those surveyed said their parents would have had a major influence on their lives if they had worried more about their studies, in addition to their strictly disciplinary preoccupations.

Licon said that it is important for parents to be involved in the schooling of their children. She noted that this is difficult for many parents to do because they do not speak English well, but she said they must take the initiative and seek out people to guide and support them.