Help available for those who dropped out

Stay in school or drop out.

Many teens come to that crossroad, and many choose what they believe to be an easy way out.

For 18-year-old Cassi Collins, her decision to drop out of Symmes Valley High School in Ohio came out of frustration from being two years behind.

"My mom held me back in kindergarten, and I failed third grade, so I should have been a senior (last year)," Collins said. "I was a sophomore and that depressed me."

Collins knew right away that she had to get her GED if she was going to be successful in life. She passed the test in July, but today, about a year removed from when she dropped out, Collins said she should have stayed and finished.

"I wished I would have stayed in school, but I didn't," she said. "I can't take that back."

Kim Becker has heard a similar refrain a thousand times. As the instructor of Cabell County Board of Education's Adult Basic Education classes at the WorkForce West Virginia office in West Huntington, Becker helps dropouts prepare to take the GED. And although her students vary in age, she said she has a lot of 17 and 18 year olds.

Many of those likely came from the group of 356 high school students who dropped out of Cabell Midland and Huntington High School during the past two school years.

The GED preparation course is free and offered at three locations in Cabell County. High school dropouts of any age wishing to obtain their GED should call (304) 528-5525.

Now that Collins has her GED, she said she plans to get a job and save up money for college. She's unsure of what she wants to do with her life, but she said she'd be glad to offer advice to any high school student considering dropping out.

"I would tell them that dropping out of school would be the worst thing they could do," Collins said.