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U-46 superintendent writes to dropouts

After a successful campaign last year, Elgin Area School District U-46 Superintendent Jose Torres has mailed off another round of letters to high school dropouts.

The 44 letters, sent to students across the district 17 or younger who notified their schools they would not be returning this fall, point to the benefits of a high school diploma.

"A high school graduate will earn hundreds of thousands of dollars more in his or her lifetime than a student who did not complete high school," Torres wrote.

After receiving letters last year, 31 dropouts returned to class. However, at least 10 of those students did not make it through the whole school year, district officials said.

"As a school system, and as a community, we must ensure that returning students are supported," Torres said in a news release. This year, the district plans to grow its "10 boys" initiative to help underperforming elementary, middle and high school boys as one form of support.

Returning dropouts will enter into "learning contracts" outlining their goals for the rest of their high school tenures, said district spokesman Tony Sanders.

For the first time since 2005, U-46's 2008 dropout average - 3.2 percent - was lower than the state average, according to school report cards. The year before, U-46's average was 3.8 percent; the state's 3.5 percent.

By school, the 44 dropouts break down into 11 students from Elgin High; nine from Gifford Street Alternative High School; six from its Central Schools program; seven from South Elgin High; four from Bartlett High; four from Larkin High; and three from Streamwood.

Torres also plans to write letters to students now 18 or older and not legally required to attend school, encouraging them to return to the classroom or take part in GED classes.

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