Don’t quit on dropouts

The state legislation, proposed by Representative Martha Walz, a Back Bay Democrat, is far more comprehensive. It calls for raising the dropout age gradually to allow school districts to develop strategies for teaching kids who have given up on traditional classrooms.

“Decades ago, it had far different connotations than it does today,’’ Walz said. “You’re not going to go work on a farm in most areas of our state. You’re not going to go into a low-skilled manufacturing job in most areas of our state.’’

In fact, mounting evidence says dropouts are far more likely to be unemployed, live in poverty, or end up incarcerated than their peers who graduate from high school.

A study in 2009 by Northeastern’s Center for Labor Market Studies put the average income of high school dropouts at less than $9,000 a year. Jackson says that comes with a heavy price tag for taxpayers, when some of those dropouts stray.

“We spend a $11,000 a year to educate a student but $46,000 for incarceration,’’ he said.

Jackson and Connolly joined forces when they discovered that they were both, independently, concerned about the same issue, which is drawing increased attention. New Hampshire has already raised its dropout age, resulting in far more students graduating from high school.

While the dropout rate is an issue statewide, it resonates in Boston, where the graduation rate is 63 percent and where even those who do graduate - exam school graduates excluded - struggle to advance in college. Connolly, a former teacher who said he visits at least one school a week, said he is struck by how early some students begin pondering dropping out - long before they are mature enough to understand the decision’s implication.

“I talk to teachers who says they see kids at 12 who are already planning to drop out at 16,’’ Connolly said. “These are totally disengaged kids who begin skipping school a ton. In a lot of cases a teacher will go an extra mile to pull that kid back into school.’’