<DIV><DIV><DIV><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><I>Did you know that we're battling an epidemic* . . . ?</I></B></P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; tab-stops: 0in .25in .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in">•       Almost one-third of all high-school students fail to graduate with their class; among minorities, the dropout rate is almost 50 percent. </P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; tab-stops: 0in .25in .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in">•       Dropouts are more likely than their peers to be unemployed, live in poverty, have poor health, depend upon social services, and go to jail.</P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; tab-stops: 0in .25in .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in">•       The combined loss of income and revenue to the American economy from<B> <I>a single year's dropouts</I> </B>is about $192 billion.  </P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 0in .25in .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in">*From <I>The Silent Epidemic </I>(Bridgeland, Dilulio, and Morrison, 2006) </P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 0in .25in .5in .75in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in"><B><I>        </I></B>But there <I>is</I> a solution to the dropout crisis that is proven, effective, replicable, and sustainable!<B> Communities In Schools (CIS) </B>reaches more than one million at-risk students and their families annually in more than 3,000 American schools. These kids would fall far below the national average for every measure of student success. <I>Yet 98 percent of CIS-tracked students stayed in school.</I> Why? What makes the difference?  </P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 0in .25in .5in .75in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in"><I>        The Last Dropout</I> offers nine key principles that Communities In Schools has tested over three decades. Interwoven are the dramatic life stories of CIS founder <B>Bill Milliken </B>and his colleagues, a journey that began in the turbulent 1960s as youth workers with a spiritual mission struggled to turn around the lives of dropouts and addicts. It traces the evolution of the CIS movement from a handful of groundbreaking “street academies” to a national network of hundreds of local affiliates. <I>The Last Dropout</I> also features stories about how CIS leaders have adopted these principles in their own communities, with stunning results!  </P></DIV>