Dropout: An American Education

Every kid has a dream of growing up and becoming a doctor, a lawyer, a fireman, a policeman. Some even dream of becoming the next president of the United States, or even walking on the moon. But without an education, none of these dreams are possible.

While College graduates earn significantly more than High School graduates, without a diploma childhood dreams are quickly replaced by the frustrations of trying to get ahead without that piece of paper.

Instead of defending or prosecuting criminals, saving lives or going into space, you wind up flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant making minimum wage or collecting public assistance, earning less than the national poverty level.

The No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law January 2002, aims to make sure that ALL children achieve academic proficiency within 12 years and gain skills necessary to succeed later in life. But today, five out of every 100 young adults enrolled in high school will never earn a High School diploma. These youths account for 10.9 percent of the 34.6 million 16- through 24-year-olds in the United States.

Studies have found that young adults with low education and skill levels are more likely to live in poverty and to receive government assistance. High School dropouts are likely to stay on public assistance longer than those with at least a high school diploma, and, are more likely to get involved in crime.

These alarming studies pose the question, why are so many kids leaving high school? "Dropout" is a Documentary that goes into the lives of these at risk youth from all over America who are destined of becoming another statistic to answer this very question.

From socio economic backgrounds to teenage pregnancy, sexual orientation, drugs and alcohol and family dependency. Dropout explores all contributing factors to an individuals decision to leave school and looks at what can be done to change the course of these young lives.

Genres: Documentary, Drama, Other