Editorial: More than a degree

It’s hard to imagine a teenager dropping out of school when they are about a year away from a diploma, but for many former Iredell-Statesville Schools students last year, that was reality.

Nearly half of the 317 students who quit school in the 2006-07 school year were in their junior or senior year of high school.

Not included in that number are the students who were kicked out of school for poor grades or poor behavior.
I-SS has developed programs that focus on at-risk students on the cusp of dropping out of school — programs that are to be commended.

A large part of the dropout epidemic is a student’s indifference to their education.

Whether it’s because they lack parental guidance or they feel school “just isn’t for them,” teenagers who lack motivation in the classroom may have a bumpy future.

The benefits of a high school degree range from salary gains to the likelihood of achieving higher education.

We believe I-SS realizes that keeping kids in school means more than just getting a diploma in their hands. It means helping students find a subject that piques their interest, be it science, politics, theater or home economics, and turning that interest into a vocation.

A student vested in learning is a person vested in their future.

I-SS is on the right path to giving students a better tomorrow.