According to data published in April 2007 by SRI International, the Omaha Public Schools has a 32 percent overall drop-out rate. Drop-out rates among African American students has reached 35 percent and an astounding 49 percent of all Hispanic students are dropping out of school. These numbers are alarming when one considers the future consequences for youth without a high school diploma.

Based on the Nebraska Department of Education’s high school completion rate, 1,900 youth from the 2005-2006 ninth grade class are projected to drop out of school across Omaha. SRI International conducted a study to determine the impact of these dropouts to the Omaha community and found the following:

• Lost earnings – $494 million ($260,000 X 1,900)
• Lost tax revenues – $186 million ($98,000 x 1,900)
• Loss in lifespan – 17,480 years (9.2 years x 1,900)

The projected impact of high school dropouts not only has an economic loss, it has a human toll as well. The human toll is cyclical and will continue without significant prevention strategies such as mentoring.

Habitual truancy is the first indicator of the eventual dropping out of school. According to data from the Omaha Public Schools (OPS), over 3,000 students are truant from school on any given day. OPS data also shows that overall truancy increases as students reach the high school years.

Truancy is linked to a number of issues including poor academic performance, continued poverty and juvenile crime. Recent studies have also linked habitual truancy with increased likelihood of alcohol and drug abuse among youth. According to the U.S. Department of Education:

“High school seniors who are heavy drug users are more than three times as likely to skip school as nonusers. About one-fifth of heavy users skipped three or more school days a month, more than six times the truancy rate of nonusers. In a Philadelphia study, dropouts were almost twice as likely to be frequent drug users as were high school graduates; four in five dropouts use drugs regularly.” (U.S. Department of Education, What Works: Schools Without Drugs).

The Department of Education findings suggest that by implementing programs that address truancy, students will not only be less likely to drop out of school but will also be less likely to engage in drug and alcohol abuse. Mentoring has a direct impact on truancy and programs across the nation report improved attendance at school once a youth is matched with a mentor.

In the March 2006 study, The Silent Epidemic, the Gates Foundation reported that a critical factor in keeping youth in school is that the student has a strong relationship with at least one caring adult at school. Of the students surveyed in the study, 62 percent said schools need to do more to help students with problems outside of class and only 40 percent said they had someone to talk to at school. Mentors play a vital role by listening to youth about their problems and providing the much needed caring adult at school.

Data collection from our local mentoring organizations reveals the impact of mentoring on the lives of youth. Once a student is matched with a mentor, there is a significant improvement in grades, attendance and behavior. Attendance is one of the first indicators of whether a student will drop-out of school or not.

The need is great for caring adults in the lives of youth. Regardless of a person’s background or professional position, there is a role to play in the future of mentoring. By mentoring, we can change the future for an entire generation of young people. Mentoring works – there are simply not enough adult volunteers to meet the number of youth who are in need of a mentor.