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The United States is failing its children.

In the 2010 graduating class, three out of every 10 young people didn’t make the grade.¹ Yet for African-American, Hispanic/Latino and Native Americans populations, this number is dramatically worse with just over half graduating on time.²

Low graduation rates contribute to increases in unemployment, poor health, crime and drug use. It lowers America’s tax revenue and increases its public assistance expenses.

Our young people are future workers, voters and community members. They are our neighbors. When we fail kids, we fail our communities and ourselves.

It’s time to give our children and our country a better and brighter future.

Read Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s position paper about the high school dropout crisis, Our Nation’s Dropout Crisis is Everyone’s Problem.

Earning Power

In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau reported the following annual average earnings estimates:

• $17,299 Less than a high school diploma
• $26,933 High school diploma
• $36,645 Associate’s degree
• $52,671 Bachelor’s degree
• $66,754 Graduate degree

¹Editorial Projects in Education, “Diplomas Count 2010: Graduation by the Numbers: Putting Data to Work for Student Success” Education Week, 29, No. 34 (2010).
² Editorial Projects in Education, “Diplomas Count 2009: Broader Horizons: The Challenge of College Readiness for All Students,” Education Week, 28, No. 34 (2009).