The Taco Bell Foundation for Teens was founded to help as many teens as possible reach graduation. But, the sad fact is that there is a graduation crisis happening in America.  Please join us at the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens, and let’s start solving this problem one graduate at a time.

How bad is the teen dropout crisis?

Nearly one-third of all public high school students—and nearly one half of all African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans—fail to graduate from public high school with their class. Dropouts are more likely than high school graduates to be unemployed, in poor health, living in poverty, on public assistance, and single parents with children who drop out of high school. 1 Dropouts are more than eight times as likely to be in jail or prison as those with at least a high school diploma. 2 More than 80 percent said their chances of staying in school would have increased if classes were more interesting and provided opportunities for real-world learning.

How do teens feel about the Dropout Crisis?

In March 2009 Taco Bell Foundation for Teens surveyed 1,000 American teens to get their opinion on the Graduation Crisis. Here are some of the highlights:

• Nearly all teens (95%) think that graduating from high school is critical to their future success.

• Seventy-one percent of teens know someone who has dropped out of high school.

• Parents/guardians are the authority figures that have the strongest influence on teens to stay in school and graduate (62%); followed by grandparents (8%); and coaches and teachers/school officials (8% and 7% respectively).

• Nearly half of teens (45%) said the biggest obstacle in going to college is cost; followed by poor grades (17%); family issues (7%) and they don’t know how to apply (6%).

Statistics the Graduation Crisis   Results of the TBFT Teen Graduation Survey   The Boys and Girls Club of America, Inc. and Taco Bell Foundation for Teens host a teen town hall addressing the Graduation Crisis.