Getting Drop-Outs Back in School

A new charter school will focus on teaching students who have dropped out or who are at risk of dropping out. The school will be run by Can! Academy:

Can! Academy, which operates public charter high schools throughout the country, offers small class sizes and intensive counseling and job training to its students. According to post-graduation surveys of its students, three-quarters of its graduates go on to college or vocational schools, company officials say.

Superintendent Diana Bourisaw is opposed; she argues that the district is already dealing with the drop-out problem by opening three alternative programs this year.

The Post-Dispatch offers some vacuous commentary:

Can! Academy, Big Picture Company, Alternatives Unlimited and ACE Learning Center all may have something to offer, but the state must be sure to look objectively at their results as well as their methodologies.

and some words of wisdom:

Given the complexity of the dropout problem, it is unlikely that one approach will solve it.

Hear, hear.