Poway Unified school district officials are urging people who dropped out of high school to get back on track. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis says the district is holding the Drop-In Day for Dropouts event Thursday.
Thirty-eight-year-old electrician Gilbert Gallardo dropped out of high school when he was a junior. Gallardo was forced to go back to school about a year ago after losing a good-paying job.
Gallardo: I was able to move up in the company and be successful, but the company ended up moving. And now the times have changed, and I can’t even get an interview because I don’t even have a high school diploma or GED. So that’s what made me go back and finish it.
Poway school officials are hoping to reach out to people like Gallardo. Counselors will be offering personalized information on how every student can get a diploma. School officials say most students are just a year or so away from completing the coursework to graduate. State education officials say nearly 30-percent of high school freshmen don’t graduate. Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
