The Cost of High School Dropouts and How UrbanFUTURE Restoration Helps

A 2008 report by Jason Amos of the Alliance for Excellent Education details some of the costs associated with the high school drop out rate.  Based on that report ("Dropouts, Diplomas and Dollars: U.S. High Schools and the Nation’s Economy"), here are some of the alarming social costs for the state of Missouri based on dropout rates.

·         Lost Lifetime Income of HS Dropouts 2007-08: ~$4.8 billion

·         Benefit of increasing male HS graduation rate by 5% based on crime reduction: ~$150 million

·         Lifetime savings for Medicaid & Uninsured medical coverage if dropouts graduated: ~$245 million

·         Increase in Household Wealth if dropouts graduated: ~$1.5 billion

·         Annual Savings from reduced need for community college remediation: ~$21 million

·         Additional Personal Income of educational attainment of Af. Am, Hispanics & Nat. Am increases to that of white students by 2020: ~$1.3 billion

Using some of that data, UrbanFUTURE conducted a hypothetical cost-benefit analysis of investing in UrbanFUTURE Restoration based on a community cluster of 300 students.

Based on the current graduation rate of 50% in St. Louis Public Schools, in an UrbanFUTURE Community Cluster of 300 students, 150 students would not graduate from high school.  The total cost to provide Restoration for 300 students over 5 years (4th - 8th grade) is $4.5 million.  If UrbanFUTURE Restoration was successful in helping students from 4th - 8th grade prepare to succeed in high school (i.e. graduate), here are the social cost savings:

·         Additional lifetime income: $39 million

·         Medicaid & Uninsured Medical Coverage Savings: $2 million

·         Total societal cost in loss earnings & increased healthcare savings: $41 million

That means there would be a net benefit of UrbanFUTURE Restoration of $36.5 million and for every $1 invested in UrbanFUTURE Restoration, society would receive $9 in return - a 900% return on investment!  This calculation doesn't even consider the costs savings of reducing crime and incarceration rates, increasing household wealth and cost savings for community college remediation courses.

With these kinds of numbers, investing in UrbanFUTURE now will mean more for everyone in the future.  Restoration isn't just about helping urban youth, it's about helping us all and restoring the collaboration between the home, the school and the community.