부산대학교 도서관

Students who have dropped out of high school--and those at risk of doing so--are at greater risk of lifelong poverty, involvement with the criminal justice system, dependence on government welfare programs, and even premature death. In the last few years, however, the problems at high schools have compounded, as pandemic-era school closures led to dramatic drops in math and reading proficiency, as well as a spike in chronic absenteeism. In the wake of the pandemic, there is thus a pressing need--as well as an opportunity--to find new, innovative approaches for recovering dropouts and retaining those at risk of dropping out. Paid high school work-study programs are a promising way to help provide opportunities to the most vulnerable teenagers and young adults. Before graduating from high school, students enrolled in work-study programs are employed in paid jobs to gain valuable, marketable skills while often receiving their first wages and being kept safe. Work-study programs make high school relevant, thus helping to prevent dropouts and to reclaim those who have already left. In preventing more students from exiting the school system, these programs can make the U.S. more economically competitive and turn around the lives of thousands of students who would otherwise likely fall into lifelong dead ends. School-district officials should work to establish these programs, starting with a select number of high schools and partners in the private sector and skilled trades.