Drop Out Crisis - What are the Candidates' Positions?

Fourteen urban school districts have on-time graduation rates lower than 50%; they include Detroit, Baltimore, New York, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Denver and Houston. Studies estimate that the drop out rate is 70%. That means about 7,000 students drop out per school day

Sen. McCain voted against $20 million for dropout prevention. He proposes $250 million for Digital Passport Scholarships, so low-income students could get up to $4,000 for virtual schools online.

Sen. Obama says he will address the drop out crisis by funding to school districts to invest in intervention strategies in middle school - strategies such as personal academic plans, teaching teams, parent involvement, mentoring, intensive reading and math instruction, and extended learning time.

Source: Greg Toppo, Big-city schools struggle with graduation rates, http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-06-20-dropout-rates_x.htm

Source: GovTrack.us: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=s2003-322

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