The New York Times

May 9, 2009

Editorial

The Dropout Crisis

The soaring dropout rate is causing the United States to lose ground educationally to rivals abroad and is trapping millions of young Americans at the very margins of the economy. The Obama administration acknowledges the problem in its new budget, which includes a $50 million dropout prevention program, but solving this predicament will require a lot more money and a comprehensive national strategy.

The alarming scope of the dropout crisis is laid out by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston and the Alternative Schools Network of Chicago, a nonprofit known for its work in educating dropouts. Their study, which examines data from the 12 largest states, finds that 16 percent of people between the ages of 16 and 24 have dropped out.

The problem is especially pronounced among men, who make up more than 60 percent of those who leave school nationally. The dropout problem hits minorities really hard. According to the study, for example, nearly 1 in 5 African-Americans and nearly 3 in 10 Hispanics ages 16 to 24 were dropouts in 2007.

The numbers are disconcerting given that dropouts tend to have anemic earnings and unstable lives, which places them at high risk of becoming a burden to society.

Many of this country’s large urban high schools are rightly called “dropout factories” because more students leave school than graduate. But according to the study, state dropout rates are highest in the South, where Georgia (22.1 percent), Florida (20.1 percent), Texas (18.5 percent) and North Carolina (17.6 percent) lead the way.

The dropout crisis presents a clear danger to national prosperity. But at the moment, states and localities are struggling to contain it with little help or guidance from the federal government. Congress, which is just waking up to this issue, can advance the solution by putting its money and muscle behind proven programs that have been shown to re-engage the young people who have dropped out and that keep at-risk children on track to complete their educations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/09/opinion/09sat2.html

The Star-Ledger, Barry Carter

A voice deep within her now speaks to others Monday, November 03, 2008 The first half of Lilisa Williams' life had not gone well.

There was rebellion and shame as a teenager growing up in Cincinnati. Dropping out of high school in the 11th grade was her solution to years of academic frustration.

Drugs in the 1970s helped her escape a pain she would not discuss for years -- an uncle had molested her from the time she was 5 until she was 18. Williams had no clear direction then, her world finally unraveling into prostitution, more drugs and arrests for both offenses.

So Lilisa Williams had nothing to lose when she left the Midwest city in 1987. She was 32, unemployed, living with her mother, and knowing she had to do something, even if she only had a General Equivalency Diploma from night school.

In a beat-up Ford Escort, she headed for Newark, where her sister lived -- where her future surprisingly began to fall in place.

Saed Hindash/The Star-LedgerLillsa Williams moved to Newark for a new start two years ago. She now works to inspire others to take control of their lives.

"It was like I had to prove something to myself," Williams said. "Something within me said, 'Try again.'"

This was her doctrine, an inherent quality others discovered as she worked through college, earning several degrees along the way. She remembered that a good attitude was everything and it led to opportunity whenever she needed one.

Marvin Braker, a private attorney who also works for Irvington and Orange, hired Williams as his legal secretary 12 years ago, even though she had little experience. She learned the ropes quickly, developing a rapport with clients, bringing an infectious personality and smile to the office.

"There was something about her that suggested I should take a chance on her and I never regretted it," he said. "It was clear to me, despite her background, God had some long-range plans for her. And I saw those plans unfolding for her."

This scene played out regularly for Williams, beginning when she came to Newark. An engineering company hired Williams as a file clerk and sent her to learn word processing at Essex County College, the Newark institution where she would emerge as an A student.

"It clicked for me," she said. "It became so real to me. I could see myself in college."

Education finally made sense for a woman who failed so miserably in school.

Williams took as many courses as possible before transferring to Union County College, where she graduated with honors in 1993, earning an associate's degree in business and public administration.

This was just the beginning. There was no place for her to go but up, nothing to hold her back. She earned two degrees from Fairleigh Dickinson University, a bachelor of arts in political science and a master's in business administration.

She wondered why it took so long and eventually realized that her niche was to inspire others stuck in the chasm of despair from which she rose.

She said professors at the community colleges saw her gift the few times she opened up about overcoming adversity. It would take a while, though, before Williams would unabashedly tell everything.

"I was trying to hide that stuff," she said. "I wasn't trying to go back to the Cincy days."

She could have kept quiet, but a friend at one of her many jobs, this one as a recruiter at Newark airport, said something that would continue to resonate.

"Only the person that's been behind the door can help the people who are still behind the door."

Williams began to speak, primarily to women, some at churches, others in prisons, sharing her tale of deliverance.

Mamie Bridgeforth, a former Newark councilwoman, can't forget how Williams energized a group of women on hard times during a pre-Mother's Day ceremony this year.

"Oh my God," Bridgeforth said. "Every woman walked out of there standing two feet taller. She's been able to take the hurt and pain in her life and turn it into a gift."

Williams, 51, wants women and young girls to understand they do not have to roll over and give up when things look bad.

"Everybody has greatness," she said. "There's nothing that can stop you but you."

Just look at her. She was a high school dropout. Now she's a college graduate and author of two motivational books. She's been married 18 years to her husband, whom she describes as incredible. Essex County College brought her on board as a business professor in the evening and she has her dream job during the day as a training coordinator at the Kintock Group facility, a halfway house in Newark.

Williams wants to be their example of achievement, the model to reshape their lives. It's why she's pursuing an on-line doctorate in training and performance improvement to show women they should keep pushing.

"It's not just about me," she said. "It's all about who I can help."