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ABC's of Charter Schools
Maine's Need
Maine's Legislation
Get Involved!
National Charter Schools
Related Educational Issues
MACS Information |
Maine's
Education Challenges
2006
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Children
at Risk in Maine |
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2000 children per year drop out of high school on average |
| 4,500
children were victims of abuse/neglect in 2003 |
| 1,147 teen mothers gave birth to children in 2002 |
| 4% annual increase in number of children not speaking English |
| 6.3 children of each 100,000 commit suicide
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| 64,355 children receive subsidized school lunch in 04/05 (33% of
public school enrollment) |
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152 children are expelled from school each year on average |
| 3,200 H.S. students are enrolled in adult education annual average
– most seek GED, not H.S. diploma |
| 37,784 children had
disabilities in 2004, up 40% in 20 years |
26% of children live
in single parent families.
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Sources: Maine Kids Count 2005 Data Book;
Maine Children’s Alliance
Maine Department of Education website:
www.maine.gov/education
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Poverty and
Frequent Moves are Predictors for Children At Risk of Low Educational
Achievement |
| Many children in poor
families had moved the previous year, estimated at 26% or 12,490
children. |
| In 2004, there were about
170,000 families in Maine with 280,000 children. Of those, 17%, 49,000
children, were living in poor families, (defined as a household income
below the federal poverty level of about $20,000 for a family of four).
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Among the parents of the
children living in poor families, 51% did not have a high school diploma
and only 11% had some college education. |
| Most poor children in
Maine live in single-parent families - 75% or 36,750 children.
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An additional 20% of
children in Maine, 56,000 children, were living in "low income"
families, defined as households having up to twice the federal poverty
level.
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Source: National
Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University;
http://nccp.org/state_detail_demographic_poor_ME.html
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Learning Disabilities Association of
Maine |
| Thousands of Maine children struggle with learning
disabilities, which hamper their academic success, makes them feel
stupid and incompetent, and leads to high drop out rates.
Frequently called lazy, uninterested or an underachiever, some make it
through high school. Others drop out, become unemployed or
unemployable. With the right help, many can succeed.
But,
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| On average, of
children with LD and/or ADHD: |
| * 30% will drop out of school - twice the rate of
their non-disabled peers |
| * 72% will become juvenile delinquents |
| * 60% of adolescents will seek drug treatment |
| * 31% of teens will be arrested 3-5 years out of
high school |
| * Few will continue on to four-year colleges (2%)
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* 62% will be unemployed a few years out of HS;
most of those employed
will be in minimum wage jobs |
* 66% of secondary students read 3 or more grade
levels behind; 20%
read 5 or more grade levels behind |
* 60% of adults with severe literacy problems
have untreated learning
disabilities |
* Learning disabilities and substance abuse are
the most common
impediments to keeping welfare clients from becoming and
remaining employed. |
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From the Learning Disabilities Association of
Maine
www.ldame.org
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Maine Youth Drug and
Alcohol Use Survey 2004 |
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| The survey was administered to over 75,000 students
in grades 6-12 from 342 schools in all 16 counties of Maine. |
| Prevention Successes:
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| * Cigarette smoking declined from abut 25% of
those surveyed in 1995 to 15% in 2004. |
| * Between 1995 and 1999, alcohol drinking in the
30 days prior to the survey declined from 61% to 49% among 12th graders
and from 35% to 22% among 8th graders. But, there has been little
change since 1999. |
| * Between 1995 and 2004, there was a significant
drop in the use of psychedelics (4.2% to 2.2%) and ectasy (2.6% to
1.4%). |
| * Perceptions of drug availability - the
proportion of students at risk because of the perceived availability of
drugs declined from 48% in 1999 to 40% in 2004. |
| Warning signs:
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| * Marijuana use continues to be a serious problem;
in 2004, 27% of Maine’s 12th graders had used marijuana during the
previous 30 days compared to 20% among US 12th graders. |
| * Past month inhalant use seems to be on the rise
again, especially among 8th graders (7.6% in 2004) and 9th graders (5.7%
). |
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* Illegal use of prescription drugs remains high; 12% of Maine’s
11th graders reported using prescription drugs in the previous month
that had not been prescribed for them by a physician. |
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Office of Substance Abuse, Information and
Resource Center, www.maineosa.org
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The Silent Epidemic - Perspectives of
High School Dropouts |
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Excerpts from page iii.
Why Students Drop Out
There is no single reason why students drop out of high school.
Respondents report different reasons: a lack of connection to the school
environment; a perception that school is boring; feeling unmotivated;
academic challenges; and the weight of real world events. But
indications are strong that these barriers to graduation are not
insurmountable. ......
Nearly 7 in
10 respondents (69 percent) said they were not motivated or
inspired to work hard, 80 percent did one hour or less of homework each
day in high school, two-thirds would have worked harder if more was
demanded of them (higher academic standards and more studying and
homework), and 70 percent were confident they could have graduated if
they had tried. ........
Some
dropouts, but not the majority, leave school because of significant
academic challenges. Thirty-five percent said that “failing in
school” was a major factor for dropping out; ...
Forty-five
percent said they started high school poorly prepared by their earlier
schooling. |
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FULL REPORT |
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