Businesses asked to help solve dropout problem

Angela Soo

Thursday, March 29, 2001 | 10:57 a.m.

Local businesses joined with the Clark County School District Wednesday to launch a program that offers a new solution to an old problem -- Nevada's high school dropout rate.

"We Promote Graduates" is a program designed to discourage students from dropping out of high school by asking businesses to hire only youths with high school diplomas.

"Over one hundred Clark County School District students dropped out last year to secure full-time employment," Maria Chairez, director of secondary success programs for the Clark County School District, said. "Now that we know where these kids are going when they dropout, we can address this problem from a different angle.

"A lot of these kids are taking jobs in the casinos," Chairez said.

The initiative targets businesses that are likely to attract young workers who are willing to sacrifice their education for short-term gain, but it is getting a modest start.

The Venetian, McDonald's and the Latin Chamber of Commerce are the first groups to sign on.

They agree not to hire full-time employees without high school diplomas and to be sensitive to the educational needs of students on their payroll.

"There are two tragedies taking place," Dave Newton, human resources vice president for the Venetian, said. "One, kids are making decisions that will affect the rest of their lives when they're not equipped to make such decisions. And two, we as a community are allowing it to happen.

"How do you measure a child who hasn't lived to their full potential?" he said.

Research has put some numbers on that cost. The annual income level for dropouts in 1992 was under $13,000, which was approximately one-third less than high school graduates, according to a study by the Educational Resources Information Center.

The study also concluded that nearly half of welfare recipients who were the heads of households were dropouts, and a majority of the prison population as well.

"You can only go so far without a high school diploma," said 17-year-old Sarah Spivey, who returned to high school after dropping out for one year.

Spivey had several reasons for leaving high school last year. She worked a job that ended at 2 and sometimes 3 a.m., family problems occurred regularly, and she was pregnant.