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OPINIONS
Editorial: Dropouts have options to finish degree
Dropping out of school is a big mistake. It doesn't take some dropouts long to realize that.
"I discovered how hard it was to get a job," said Robby Cabell, 18, of Barboursville. "Besides construction, all I could get was the jobs they give to 16-year-olds."
Cabell was one of about 21 teens who attended a meeting at the Cabell County Board of Education office last week. All had dropped out of school, but they wanted to come back. They were there to find out how to get help in earning their high school diploma or GED.
Among those who spoke were Director of Attendance Sherri Woods, Cabell County Career Technology Center counselor Robert Bailey and Tim White, the director of the Youth Empowerment Program. Counselors from Cabell Midland and Huntington high schools also were there to discuss how many credits students would need to graduate.
If they could finish high school before they turn 21, they were admitted back to school. If not, the adult programs at the Tech Center or Youth Empowerment can help students prepare for the GED or earn a certificate.
For whatever reason, some people might not be prepared for the academic or social rigors of high school. But a few weeks of working low-pay jobs with little hope of advancement without that diploma gets them thinking straight.
Brittany White, 19, dropped out of Cabell Midland High School before the end of her junior year. She got a low-wage job. Now she wants back into a program to earn a diploma or a GED.
"You pretty much need an education to go anywhere in life," Whitt told The Herald-Dispatch reporter Bill Rosenberger. "I didn't see the picture when I quit."
Cabell said. "I'm actually going back to school for the right reasons."
School officials said it was about second chances. Of all the people who could use the program, only 21 attended last week's meeting. As word gets around, perhaps more will take advantage of the opportunity to correct their mistakes and get that diploma or GED. All who can go back and get a diploma or GED certainly should be urged to do so, for their sake and for the entire community's.
