Between 1997 and 2001, almost one in seven students dropped out of Sarasota County public high
schools. That’s over 1,600 students—enough to fill an entire middle school! Why are these numbers
so important? Because they affect the quality of our community’s workforce. Because in Sarasota
County, school dropouts are eight times more likely to be receiving public assistance and earn
approximately $24,000 less each year than high school graduates.
Historically, in our community, the issue of school dropout has not been a high profile concern.
However, in January and February of 2002, the residents of Sarasota County told SCOPE they
wanted to study school dropout and find solutions to better meet our students’ needs. Volunteers met weekly for six months, hearing from resource people, gathering facts, and coming up with ideas to solve some of the problems they uncovered.
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