Dropout effort can’t wait

This November, our community has an opportunity to make an important investment in our future. The Children’s Investment Fund represents a proactive approach to making the success of our students a communitywide effort.

Improving outcomes for youth in our region is a joint responsibility and does not fall on schools alone. Like any investment, the returns from this effort are not always known at the onset. What we do know, however, is that the unacceptably high dropout rate in this community already carries a cost – in the form of higher criminal justice expenditures, underemployment and unemployment and a myriad of other social problems that occur when youth stay disconnected.

Rather than more study and hand-wringing, we need to put into place a portfolio of interventions and proven programs that have already been shown to be successful in keeping kids in school and helping them succeed. The Children’s Investment Fund provides accountability and flexibility to support efforts that work.

When one in three students drop out of high school, we know that our current approaches are not working. It’s time to change investment strategies and support the Children’s Investment Fund.

Mason Burley

Spokane