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The need for our services is driven by the facts.

Roughly a third of all American high school students drop out and do not graduate. That is more than a million dropouts each year—about one every 26 seconds.

ALS is committed to helping solve America’s high school dropout crisis with our innovative programs which give at-risk teens, students, and young adults a choice in how, where and when they earn their education.

Our goal is to ensure at-risk students earn a quality education and develop 21st century competencies that support postsecondary and employment success.

Research and editorials show that high school dropouts: 1

  • Have lower earning power
  • Are more likely to be unemployed
  • Are more likely to be single parents
  • Have higher rates of public assistance
  • Have children at a younger age

Students that drop out are typically:

  • Over-age for their expected grade level—having been retained one or more years
  • Reading and/or performing in math at the 4th to 6th grade level
  • Averaging 70 or below in two or more core curriculum subjects
  • Not earning credits at a pace to graduate on time with their cohort

There are myriad reasons why today’s teens and young adults are
dropping out—they:

  • Need to work to support themselves or their family
  • Need to care for their children, or family members
  • Need to earn credits at their own pace (not at the traditional school’s pace)
  • Are not performing satisfactorily on state competency tests
  • Are frequently changing schools and have a poor pattern of attendance
  • Are unaware of postsecondary employment or education options
  • Believe high school is not relevant to their lives

America’s growing, at-risk population needs: 2

  • Opportunities for real-world learning (make the classroom more relevant)
  • Better teachers who keep class interesting
  • Smaller classes with more individual instruction
  • Better communication between parents and school (get parents more involved)
  • Parents/guardians too make sure their kids go to school every day
  • Increased supervision at school (ensure students attend class)

ALS addresses all of these issues with positive, measured results using curriculum aligned to local and state requrements and standards. See how we work to get ahead of the curve and serve communities.

1 Diplomas Count, An Essential Guide to Graduation Policy and Rates; Education Week, June 2006
2 The Silent Epidemic; Perspectives of High School Dropouts, March 2006