Candidate Perspectives on The Dropout Dillema

The democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has ideas for addressing the dropout crisis that will cost about 1 billion annually to fully implement. In terms of logistics, these proposals include:

Identifying and supporting youth in middle school for early intervention that will not only curb dropout trends, but improve the overall academic goals and achievements of the students as well.

Funding of alternative high schools and graduation programs that will allow students more flexibility in course selection, classroom structure, and diploma attainment.

Increase the number of community organizations that are working to foster student achievement and retention via nationally funded grants and partnerships.  

Recruitment and training of excellent teachers and principals in hard-to-serve areas so that they can better educate and engage at-risk students.

Obama champions for communal rewards (referring to the social advantages of a lower national dropout rate).

John McCain, the republican presidential candidate, has been noticeably silent on the dropout issue. Though he has not explicitly proposed a plan to address soaring dropout rates, he has expressed interest in increased school choice via charter schools and vouchers. Furthermore, McCain may look to establish merit or incentive-based pay for teachers as a means of motivating educators to improve their own performances in the class, the theory being that more effective teachers are synonymous with lower school dropout rates.