One of Michigan's Children's top priorities is to ensure that all Michigan children are ready for post-secondary education, work and life.

Too many young people aren't succeeding through high school graduation, and many need more time or different paths to reach a diploma. In addition, many young people face barriers to graduation that education alone cannot remove.
 
Each year:

Too many young people drop out of Michigan high schools, and too few return to complete their credential.

16,000 students who should graduate leave school and another 19,000 fall off-track for a typical four-year high school career.

4,000 girls under age 18 become parents. Only one-third of all teen moms complete high school

15,000 children and youths are cared for outside their homes, and nearly 400 age out of the foster care system and are left on their own. Nationally, youths in foster care are two times as likely to drop out of high school than non-foster youths.

One in six births in Michigan is to a woman who has not completed high school. While this includes births to teenagers, the largest share are to women in their early 20s.

The economic, social and fiscal consequences of dropping out - unemployment, poverty, substance abuse, incarceration, poor health - are profound and unacceptable. Fortunately, we know how to graduate more young people and Michigan is poised to make great strides in improving the educational success of all children.