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had ever been raised before. Democratic senators were increased from 56 to 57. Democratic women senaotrs increased from one to five.
JANE VITRAY
Vienna
Safe Haven
Supported
To the Editor:
I write in support of Operation Safe Haven (OSH), a program designed to prevent County students from dropping our of high school before they complete the requirements for graduation.
As one who has been involved in the County’s literacy program (LVA Rappahannock) for a number of years, I am keenly aware of the importance of preventing school dropouts. It is very difficult for adults, with all their adult responsibilities, to subject themselves to the discipline and tedium of learning the subject matter which they were exposed to and rejected as teenagers. In this case, prevention is far more effective and less costely than the cure.
Adults who have completed eight years of schooling or less are considered functionally illiterate. This means that their reading comprehension, their ability to write, their use of language, and their math skills are limited, which in turn limits their job opportunities to low income levels. Statistically, there are many such people in our county. The pattern of functional illiteracy will be repeated from one generation to the next, unless steps are taken to break this generational cycle. This is where OSH comes in.
I understand that OSH has operated successfully for three years under a federal demonstration grant. Faculty members and others at the high school are supportive of the program, which provides a teacher advocate as well as counsellors to students who have problems adjusting to the various disciplines of school and are for this reason considered to be “at risk.” Such students include those who are shy or inarticulate, lacking in self esteem, suffering from a non-supportive home environment, or affected by other factors that make successfiil high school work difficult.
If we terminate OSH now, and let our “at risk” children fall behind in their work and drop out of school for lack of timely help, the result will be not only a life-long deficit for the children, but also a false economy for the county. This is so because undereducated citizens with minimal job skills are likely to make greater demands on the county for social serv
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