The authors have a proven, innovative solution for stemming the flow of dropouts and breaking the cycle of disengagement that leads up to it. Its called leaving to learn. "Leaving to learn" helps us deeply understand the real reasons kids drop out and the essential conditions for productive learning that todays adolescents require. The authors then make a compelling argument: in order to retain students through to graduation, schools must offer experiences where students do some of their learning outside of school. With common sense rules of the road, the authors offer nuts and bolts guidelines for implementing a high-quality Leaving to Learn program, including: examples of the many forms of out-of-school learning: internships, travel, community service, independent projects, and more; seamlessly integrating students outside learning with in-school curriculum; and assigning academic credit for out-of-school accomplishments.
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