Two school districts in Catawba County are set to raise their mandatory attendance age from 16 to 18 — it’s time that the rest of North Carolina school districts follow suit.
The decision, which will begin as a pilot program, is a step in the right direction in encouraging students to stay in school. Under the new policy, dropping out of school before the age of 18 is no longer an option.
While the two Catawba County school districts are the first to implement this sort of heightened age-requirement, they are far from alone — 32 states and Washington D.C. have raised their dropout age to either 17 or 18.
Opponents of the change argue that this is merely an attempt to acquire additional funding due to increased enrollment and attendance numbers. These concerns are far overshadowed by the negative societal impacts of dropping out and the positive effects of staying in school — numerous studies have shown the positive correlation between a high school diploma and income.
By taking the lead in this pilot program, Newton-Conover City Schools will continue to change the dropout culture — N-CCS only had 10 dropouts in 2012-2013.
Graduating high school is a must in today’s world, and this policy is one that districts across the state should adopt to further invest in the future. Only through these sort of policies will we be able to create an educated workforce that will continually compete to bring jobs to the state.
