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BradleySheriff.com
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"RACE TO THE TOP" |
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Thursday, 01 April 2010 |
Tennessee has made great advances improving the graduation rate for high school students. Last year, Tennessean.com reported that the state’s high school graduation rate increased by 11 percent between 2002 and 2006 ~ the biggest increase in the nation.
According to a report released by Baltimore University’s Everyone Graduates Center in March of 2009, the graduation rate in Tennessee during that four-year period of 2002-2006, went from 61 percent to 72 percent, while the national rate held steady around the 75 percent range. In 2008, Tennessee’s graduation rate hit 82.3 percent.
The Center offers no reason for the gain, but I think it is because our state legislators and educators were proactive when they needed to be and are now getting results. In 2003, the Tennessee Board of Education set a goal to achieve a 90 percent graduation rate in the state by the year 2014, and educators across the state seem to have gotten solidly behind the plan.
Of course, that’s the graduation rate. The dropout rate remains around 10 percent, perhaps a bit less. These figures, while not as negative as other areas around the country, can always stand to be improved.
I believe education to be crucial in curbing or preventing crime. High school dropouts are much more likely to be arrested and/or incarcerated than those who do graduate. Statistically, dropouts earn less, have fewer opportunities, pay fewer taxes, are more likely to collect welfare and are more likely to turn to a life of crime.
Recently, the U. S. Department of Education selected Tennessee to participate in a highly selective new program called “Race to the Top.” The program is designed to encourage innovation aimed at improving student performance and helping schools that are struggling to become successful and productive.
More than 40 states applied for the “Race to the Top” grant, but only Tennessee and Delaware were selected to participate in the first phase of the program. Tennessee officials have requested $500 million for the program, which concentrates on four main areas:
1. Adopting standards and assessments that will better prepare students for college and career fields.
2. Ensuring that classrooms are staffed with qualified teachers.
3. Reversing the performance of poorly performing schools.
4. Creating data-tracking systems to record performance.
This “Race to the Top” grant will provide funding and resources to improve our schools here in Bradley County even more. I believe money well-spent up front will pay great dividends in the end. The more young people who are encouraged to stay in school, excel and follow through with college and other vocational training, the fewer who will end up trapped in a destructive cycle of crime and violence.
It is always less expensive to educate and train young people than it is to process them through the criminal justice system. Wasted lives, lost lives and destroyed property are much more costly to society than the funds this program will use to improve our educational system.
Our legislators and educators have done a terrific job in promoting and funding education, and this new program promises to take Tennessee to even greater heights. That is good news, as our children and our future deserve no less than the best we can give them.
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