No Dropouts! Recover What's Been Lost
Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at 2:29PM 
Honored to speak at the 1st annual dropout recovery symposium held at the Crowne Plaza Baton Rouge hotel. The day started off with an introduction from Doug Bonner who is the Dropout Recovery Advisor for the state of Louisiana. Doug is a retired NHL goalie who has both a passion and a love for recovering and re-engaging schools and districts throughout the state in reaching high school dropouts. Doug is an all around great guy and a love for what most would consider "throw-a-way" youth because of their academic and personal life challenges. But, Doug sees them the way I see them as youth of promise with the desire to make something of themselves and as fate would have it, we came together today to advocate for the future leaders of tomorrow - high school dropouts.
I was elated to kick off the conference with my presentation on reaching high school dropouts. Please feel free to check it out and share with others: http://prezi.com/rfh-va4mhw6v/no-dropouts-solving-the-high-school-dropout-epidemic/?auth_key=00c2a3f09af74bb2f81c22dd6bc94af97620e400
The facts are clear, every 26 seconds a teen drops out of high school. During my presentation 138 more teens dropped out of school. Our nation needs to have a sense of urgency regarding high school dropouts and with the advent of common core state standards if districts do not seriously think of different solutions to reach hard to serve youth, our nation will lose thousands of jobs to more qualified college educated professionals from other countries. Not only have we fallen behind academically but most high school and college graduates lack the work-readiness skills to stay employed, if they even get hired. The next five years will be crucial in laying down the foundation for tomorrow's leaders to be college and career ready. My children will depend on leaders of tomorrow who have both the attitude and the aptitude to lead our communities, but, the big question is will we have enough qualified candidates to take on this role?
One place it starts is with going back into our communities and reaching high school dropouts in our communities and making sure they graduate from high school. Then we need to make sure that they have the right mentors in their lives to get and keep a job that can provide for themselves to stand on their own two feet. I have met so many adults in their 30s and 40s who still count on mommy and daddy to live. That's not living!
No Dropouts is one answer to serving high school dropouts throughout this nation. I look forward to the time when the political window opens to this silent education killer and when it does I will be right there with No Dropouts to provide solid academic support and creative social solutions to meet young people where they are at and teach them life skills to thrive and not just survive!
My heart goes out to high school dropouts who are pregnant, or in a gang, or homeless, or hooked on drugs angry and frustrated at where they are with their life choices. But, remember that life is a matter of choice and if you make the right decisions in your life you will reap the benefits from those decisions. So today, decide to make better choices, get back in school, finish your education. Allow caring adults in your life to lead you, mentor you, coach you, care for you. I'm amazed at the number of caring adults that I come in contact with but the problem is many young people feel that they can do it own their own or have an entitlement mentality like the world owes them something. The world owes you nothing! What you get in life is what you put in to your life. And so, I say to the high school drop out that is reading this right now that I believe in you, I have walked in your shoes, however, I did not let my past circumstances become my current reality and you don't have to either. Life is a matter of choice and if you need someone to speak life into you, my name is Doug Luffborough and let me mentor you...dougluff.com
