On February 5, 2002, Mike Easley said, "North Carolina sends the wrong message to young people and their families by continuing to allow students to legally drop out of high school when they turn 16. It is time to raise the legal school attendance age to 18, an age that better reflects the maturity required to make such an important and life-changing decision." With that in mind, what does everyone think about raising the legal attendance age from 16 to 18 in North Carolina?

i diffantly agree with this law, however we need to get to the bottom of why they are dropping out - if we are going to make them stay in school longer we are going to have to give ALOT of support and differant options to these students. heres an exert of an articale that i read talking about this....

Elsewhere, officials at Concord High School in Concord, N.C., launched a freshman academy designed to keep likely dropouts from leaving school. Bill Kinsey, an assistant principal at Concord High, began by talking to dropouts about why they left. He concluded the school could create a more supportive atmosphere.

Working with the middle school counselors and teachers, he identified 50 8th graders who had potential, but who struggled with things like attendance, poor grades, or low self-esteem. A cadre of dedicated teachers was chosen to work with the academy students. Those students now have more flexible schedules, attend smaller classes, and receive extra help.

I agree with Brian completley that first we do need to find out why these students are even wanting to drop out at such an early age. I def. think that they should change the age of being able to legally drop out of school to 18. I think that at 15 years old you are still in your prime learning and growing years, and at this age they wouldn't have even gave high scohol a chance. HIgh school is a completely different world from middle school but you just gotta give it a chance! And i also agree that the teacher involvement makes a world of difference!

I realize that students should be held accountable for their education as long as they'll stay in school. I also see the side that if they don't want to be there, they could create trouble for other students and teachers- which is no good for anyone. I don't think mandating them to stay is the answer. I think that we as teachers and other staff members must create an atmosphere that is conducive to positive learning and other good stuff . But I think that just passing laws isn't enough, cause there's always ways found around the laws. And then we just have more juvenile ofenders, which is what we tried to eliminate with the law in the first place. My two cents!