Celebrate American Education Week

This week marks "American Education Week." The National Education Association (NEA) has dubbed this year's celebration "Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility."

A great education for ALL of our kids is indeed the responsibility of each and every one of us. After all, the youth of today will be the leaders of our tomorrow, the staff taking care of us in our old age, and the workers paying in to our social security system. This is our next great group of philanthropists, civic leaders and volunteers.

Communities In Schools Houston invites you to visit the NEA's website at http://www.nea.org/aew/index.html and find out how they invite us to observe and engage in their 86th annual American Education Week (AEW).

The recent buzz about Houston's "drop-out factories"

It was difficult to miss the Houston Chronicle's screaming headline "42 Houston-area schools 'dropout factories'" on Wednesday, October 31, 2007.

According to that article, Houston is home to 42 of the 185 Texas high schools that are considered dropout factories-those schools "with an attrition rate of 40 percent or higher."

The issue of dropout is a complex one. There are many different factors that can impact a student's success in school, including but not limited to: family issues, including divorce, violence or abuse, socioeconomic difficulties, or an incarcerated parent(s); students who are pregnant or parenting; students with special educational needs; and students who have been retained one or more grades.

The effects of dropout on our community are equally complex, and affect everyone. A community with a high level of dropouts will likely see an increase in incarceration and other involvement in the criminal justice system; an increase in violence and crime; an increase in social services needs; a decrease in available, qualified workers; and a decrease in overall economic productivity.

Schools can't do it alone. Communities In Schools of Houston removes barriers to learning by placing social service professionals directly on the school campus to provide social supports to students so teachers can teach and students can learn.

We invite you to become part of the solution to the dropout crisis in our community. For information on how you can help Communities In Schools of Houston keep kids in school and prepare them for life, contact us at 713.654.1515 x 121 or visit our website at www.cishouston.org. Together we can truly make a difference.