Lessons From a Dropout

Wednesday, December 10 2008 | Send to a friend

LESSONS FROM A DROPOUT

Gerrin Hayes       Craig Zeno

Among many other concerns in a faltering economy is the dropout rate - in some U.S. cities, as many as half of entering freshmen fail to graduate. Policy makers say that means we'll have fewer educated minds to grapple with economic problems, and an increased burden for social services.

Twenty-year-old Gerrin Hayes just dropped out of high school. He says growing up in a crack house made it impossible to focus on studying. But Gerrin still has hope. He has a mentor, Craig Zeno, who once was a dropout himself, and he makes a strong case for the value of school.

Gerrin tells Dick Gordon why it's still important to him to earn a high school diploma. And Craig talks about how working with tough cases like Gerrin's motivates him to keep doing this work. 

• Learn about the dropout assistance program where Craig works

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