
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 25, 1993                   TAG: 9309250128
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO ASK THE NEXT 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TODAY'S TOPIC: DROPOUTS

"The Virginia Department of Education's `YES' program costs $10 million annually. It's designed to assist school systems to help lower the drop-out rate. Would you support this effort by seeking increased funding for `YES' or how would you assist localities in addressing this serious problem?"

- Rees Shearer, Emory

Mary Sue Terry:

"I think that we need to establish goals at the state level for drop-out rates, for test scores, for behavior problems, so we can not just measure our problems but measure our progress. I believe that in order for us to succeed in Virginia we have got to find ways to envision a different future for our school systems, but we also have got to find the concrete steps in order for us to get there. I'm not prepared today to commit to a particular program as it relates to the high school drop-out effort, but suffice it to say that focusing on the drop-out issue is something the state needs to do and it needs to find ways to encourage localities to do the same thing."

George Allen:

"We must make sure our school systems are providing our students with the knowledge necessary for them to compete in the world of work. . . . On the `YES' program I can't say. I think that program needs to be analyzed very carefully, before we increase any funding for it, to see if it's actually achieving the purposes for which it's intended. We all want to lower the dropout rate because when people drop out they limit their opportunities and many turn to crime."

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by CNB