Many middle and high school students are directionless because they don’t have a solid understanding of their strengths, interests, and goals; or have an actionable individual plan to achieve the future they desire.

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They are disengaged in school, cannot see their future, often dropout, or are not positioned to succeed in their next chapter. They don’t see school as relevant; therefore they lack intrinsic motivation---the kind of motivation necessary for true learning to occur.

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CONSEQUENCES

• Disengaged students; many who are wandering aimlessly. They:

  • Haven't found their “niche”---that place where they are maximizing their potential, are happiest and most successful

  • Often lose hope as they don’t see a clear future for themselves 

• Poor school attendance, grades, and credit completion rates; increased behavioral issues

• High dropout rates (High-school and Post-secondary)

  • #1 reason high school students drop out is that they find school irrelevant and boring; they see no connection between their schoolwork and how it might prepare them for a good job

• Students often take 6+ years to complete college

  • They’re not focused and often change majors several times

  • It’s expensive to pay, or accumulate debt, for extra semesters

• Many students who complete college end up with a “major by default”

  • Still have no clear direction about what they want to do

  • Often end up under- or unemployed

• Significant number of under- and unemployed mature adults, not making their greatest contribution to society

• Significant number of restless, dissatisfied adults

 

STARTLING STATISTICS

Vision

• Only 20% of young people age 12-22 can express clearly what they want to accomplish in life and why 

• Almost 25% report having no aspirations at all,  and show little sign of trying to find something worthwhile 

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​School Counselors

• The average school counselor has 482 students assigned to them

• Nearly 30% of U.S. K-12 schools have no counselor

• 4 of the top 10 largest public school districts in the country (in major metropolitan areas) have more security officers than counselors

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​Dropout Rates (High school and Post-secondary)

• In Arizona, home state of DreamRoads, 22% of 9th graders will not finish high school

  • Almost 20,000 students drop out of high school in AZ every year

    • Each cohort costs the state $7.6 Bil in lost income, health costs, crime expenses and welfare over their lifetimes

  • Only 25% of Arizona students who start a post-secondary program finish it

• The U.S. has the highest college drop-out rate in the industrialized world

 

Productivity

• 5Mil youth age 16-24 in the U.S. are not in school or working  

• 15-25% of minority youth  

• Costs $94B annually in welfare and lost tax revenue 

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Student Loan Debt

• Half of student loan debt in the U.S. is held by those who have dropped out of school

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Disengaged Adults

• 69% of U.S. employees report “Not engaged” or “Actively disengaged” in their jobs

• Millennials are the least engaged group (only 29% engaged)

• May not be working in jobs that allow them to use their talents and strengths, thus creating disengagement