When our youth do not graduate from high school, they, and society, lose for the rest of their lives:

• The 2000 U.S. Census reports that 55% of those without a high school diploma reported no earnings at all. The median income for those who worked was $18,734 vs. $27,915 for individuals with a high school degree.
• Students in under-performing schools are much more likely to be held back. Being retained one grade increases a student's chance of dropping out by 40-50%; for two grades, it's 90%.
• The rate of poverty for high school dropouts is three times higher than that for high school graduates.
  
  Specifically in the area we serve:
  

• The unemployment rate is at 27 percent, and the per capita income is the lowest in Milwaukee County (second lowest in Wisconsin)

• Roughly 75% of children live in households with annual income below $18,000.
  
• Children from low-income families are more than twice as likely to drop out of high school as those from middle-income families.
  
• Only about 30 percent of the homes are owner occupied.
  
• The student mobility rate is 50 percent.
  
• More than half the residents are youth under 18 years of age.
  
• The service area population is approximately 75% African American and 15% Asian