As a struggling high school student in metro Detroit, Kyle Grigg faced a terrible prospect. Last spring, Kyle was asked by his public high school counselor to leave the school because he did not have enough time to make up lost credits and graduate. Kyle knew he didn't want to be one of the 20,000 students who drop out of Michigan public high schools each year--but he didn't know what else to do.
When his high school doors closed behind him, Kyle's lifelong opportunities become severely limited. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average annual income of a dropout is $24,000, which is 60 percent below that of high school graduates. Kyle didn't want to bus tables for the rest of his life, but finding even a low-skill job in Michigan has become increasingly difficult. Michigan's 14.3 percent unemployment rate currently leads the nation. With limited earning potential and low chances of gainful employment, it's not surprising that many dropouts end up in correctional facilities or prison. The New York Times recently reported that, on any given day, a dropout is five times more likely to be incarcerated--with the cost of lifetime incarceration exceeding the cost of public school education by a factor of two or three.
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