Sunday, October 15, 2006
Here is a report from Norfolk, Virginia that highlights a problem in every regional economy I visited over the last ten years. High school dropout rates are alarmingly high. In many states education statistics obscure the problem.
This report from Norfolk outlines of 40 percent of the entering ninth graders will fail to graduate from high school. These dropouts represent a massive leak in our brain power pipeline. Read more.
The decision to drop out of high school represents the most important economic decision of a person's life. Leaving high school early represents a lifetime earnings loss of about two hundred thousand dollars.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
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Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Leaks in our brain power pipeline
