The message in Jackson this past week was clear: get on the bus. What does that mean? Taking action on a major problem in the state: the alarming number of high school dropouts. It's a problem in East Mississippi, too. Mississippi's dropout rate is 26 percent; the dropout rate is about 39 percent in the Meridian Public School District, according to recent numbers form the Department of Education.

The routine is repeated throughout the state and country: a teenager slowly but surely gets more and more disinterested in school. He or she gets less involved and starts missing classes. Then the student gets so far behind it's hard to catch up. So they quit, opting to face the real world without a high school education. What follows is tragic. At best, most dropouts earn less money than those who stay in school (about $9,200 less per year). At worst, many of those dropouts end up in jail or in poverty, some even becoming teenage parents.

Other interesting facts:

• A student gives up school every 29 seconds across the country each year.

• Nearly one in every three public high school students in the country fails to graduate from high school with their class.

• Over a typical 30-year career, a dropout can earn potentially $276,000 less than graduates.

• Dropouts are 10 times more likely to go to jail.

So on Thursday in Jackson, about 2,400 people from across the state — including more than 70 from Lauderdale County — attended Destination Graduation: Mississippi Adult Summit.

After a few rousing speeches from leaders from across the state, including Meridian's own Mary Peavey, president of Peavey Electronics, participants of the summit met in small cluster groups. There, they met for about two hours to hammer out suggestions on how to handle the problem of high school dropouts in their own communities.

About 50 people from Lauderdale County — business leaders, community leaders, educators, elected officials, civic leaders — sat and discussed the problems facing East Mississippi. At times the conversations were heated, but in a fruitful way in which ideas were being discussed. The passion flowed. It was clear: people want to make a difference. But how?

That's what this group hopes to tackle again in future meetings later this month. Thursday was a start, but we only scratched the surface.

What warmed my heart: watching people from my hometown come together in one room to discuss this problem. I just hope it wasn't left there; I hope the passion continues to drive each of us to do something about it. If children are dropping out, it's up to us as a community to stop it.

After all, these are all "our" children. These are "our" potential future leaders, business owners, pharmacists, doctors, lawyers, salesmen, preachers. We must band together to do what we can to keep them engaged and in school. If not, then they'll potentially become "our" inmates, teenage mothers, and impoverished residents struggling to survive. If we care, we must get involved.

I encourage anyone interested in getting involved to contact the Department of Education or local school officials. This problem won't be solved without the involvement of people who see it happen on a daily basis. We need genuine input from people passionate about that change.

I'm encouraged by people like Percy Bland, a Meridian State Farm Insurance agent who is a product of parents who were educators. Bland was the facilitator of Thursday's Lauderdale County cluster group. I'm also encouraged by Bonnie Dulaney, a student at West Lauderdale who also serves on the State Superintendent's Student Advisory Board. Dulaney spoke briefly at Thursday's summit and also led a youth summit on the same subject earlier this year. I can't wait to see more get involved to help with this movement.

As one speaker said, "this must be a movement, not a moment."

Mississippi was the first state in the country to hold this type of summit; I can't wait to see where we go from here.

For more information about this and how you can get involved, visit: www.onthebus.ms.



Fredie Carmichael is editor of The Meridian Star. E-mail him at fcarmichael@themeridianstar.com.