HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS WHO BEAT THE ODDS.
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It's high school graduation season, but one out of four high school students in this country doesn't graduate.
As our CBS News colleague Jim Axelrod has reported...
VO - Jim Axelrod, CBS News Correspondent
"There are 31 million high school dropouts in the U.S. More than half are unemployed. The majority of those under 30 who do have jobs work part-time and make an average of 9,400 dollars a year." (:12)
Jim wants to you to know, though, about some dropouts who beat the odds.
VO - Jim Axelrod
"They found NewBridge, a 20-year-old public-private partnership that helps dropouts earn a high school diploma and places them in schools and jobs." (:09)
That story after this...
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Doug Stites - a recruitment professional - says these days, unskilled plus unschooled equals unemployed.
SOT - Doug Stites, a recruitment professional
"The companies are creating no jobs for them - zero. How are they ever going to get to get a chance? They're never going to own a house, they're never going to buy a Harley, they're never going to buy a new car. They're cut off from the economic middle class for the rest of their life." (:13)
SOT - Robert Parker, CEO of NewBridge Services
"These young adults are the ones that we've pushed aside." (:03)
VO - Jim Axelrod
"Robert Parker is the NewBridge CEO." (:02)
SOT - Robert Parker
"But that's very shortsighted. They're going to collect food stamps, and they're not going to be taxpayers. In a sense, we're investing in these people in order for them to pay back." (:09)
Brian Wells - at the age of 19 - feels ready to pay back now, thanks to NewBridge.
SOT - Brian Wells, a NewBridge graduate
"I feel like I'm 100 percent where I should be. I got my self confidence - I can get this, I can do this. It is no longer 'I can't.'" (:08)
And Nick Andino is pumped up, too.
SOT - Nick Andino, a NewBridge graduate
"I thought if I didn't finish school, that the closest job I could get is pumping gas or flipping burgers at McDonalds. It feels great to know that I will be going to college soon, and I will get a job that I want." (:11)
The Osgood File. Transcripts, podcasts, and Mp3s of these programs can be found at theosgoodfile.com. I'm Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network. |
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