 The current objectives of the task force are to increase high school
graduation rates in Logan County and to decrease truancy rates in
the county. Truancy rates in Logan County schools are higher than
the state's average, and in Lincoln approximately 1 in 25 teens, or
4 percent, do not graduate with their class. (See task force
Web page.)Far too many young people in Logan County and
across the nation are dropping out of school, leaving their future
and that of our community at risk. We need to come together as a
community like never before to provide the necessary support to help
our youth graduate from high school, so they are prepared for
college and have the necessary skills to succeed in life.
Experts agree that the well-being and prosperity of our community
and the nation are dependent upon an educated work force. In 2010,
two-thirds of all jobs will require postsecondary instruction. Yet
today, millions enter the work force lacking even basic skills for
success. Young people who drop out are more likely to be
incarcerated, rely on public programs and social services, and go
without health insurance than those who graduate from high school.
Experts estimate that dropouts from the class of 2006-07 will cost
the U.S. more than $329 billion in lost wages, taxes and
productivity over their lifetimes. It is said that 75 percent of
high school graduates leave their community, while 85 percent of
dropouts stay and negatively impact the economy. For instance, if
the students who dropped out of the class of 2007 had graduated, the
nation's economy would have benefited from an additional $329
billion in income over their lifetimes.
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The Healthy Communities Partnership has been striving to improve
the health and quality of life for the residents of Logan County
since 1998, in order to "create the healthiest community in
America."
Join the Education Task Force at 8:30 a.m. on July 29 in
Conference Room A at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital to learn how
you can help. To RSVP, please contact Kristi Lessen, director of the
Healthy Communities Partnership, at 217-732-5066 or e-mail
education@healthycommunitiespartnership.org.
[Text from file received from
Healthy
Communities Partnership]
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