JEFFERSON CITY -- As the economy continues its downturn and laid-off workers continue their search for jobs, the relationship between an individual's education level and the employment opportunities available to them has come into focus once again. As part of our continued look into the mid-Missouri job market, KRCG's Mallory McGowin investigates the importance of getting a high school diploma.
State officials say the importance of having a high school diploma is not just evident in today's tough economic times.
"The connection between an education and how well you do as far as finding job opportunities and the pay is pretty much straight forward," said Missouri Economic Development Research and Information Center Director Marty Romitti. "It crosses all business cycles."
And in Missouri, Romitti says the statistics speak for themselves: just over 11 percent of high school dropouts are unemployed. That's compared to just over six percent unemployment for high school graduates and only two percent for college graduates.
With those kinds of statistics, I wanted to look at graduation rates at high schools in the Heart of Missouri and hear what school officials had to say about those numbers.
The high school graduation rate at Jefferson City has fluxuated in the last five years. 87.3 percent of JC students graduated in 2004, but that number dropped to 79.5 percent in 2008. School officials admit they are unhappy with that number and are working quickly to fix it.
Graduation rates have been steadily high at Blair Oaks, staying between 94 and 98 percent over the last five years with nearly 80 percent of seniors graduating in 2008.
Administrators at both Blair Oaks and Jefferson City told me what they say to students who are thinking of walking away from a diploma. And the current state of our economy has given these educators more fuel.
"I believe its more important today than ever before," said Jefferson City High School Principal Myron Graber. "And you just look at what's happening in our economy over the past six months and the number of jobs that are being eliminated, lost, phased out."
"The numbers are pretty clear," said Blair Oaks High School Guidance Counselor Jill Shanley. "Anybody who drops out of high school right now is unfortunately kind of stuck in a job that makes around minimum wage. The other thing is, when the economy gets bad, those are the first jobs to disappear."
When it comes to a paycheck high school dropouts in Missouri earn an average yearly salary of nearly $18,500. High school graduates make nearly $7,000 more every year. And in Missouri, on average a college degree expands that difference to nearly $28,000 every year.
Education officials stress that a high school diploma is just the first step towards a better job. They all point to job trends showing the importance, and many times the requirement, of continued education after high school.
Mallory crunched the numbers on graduation rates for nearly all the high schools here in the Heart of Missouri. See the chart below to see how your school fares.
| SCHOOL DISTRICT | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Jefferson City | 87.3% | 80.2% | 79% | 83.5% | 79.5% |
| Columbia | 83.2% | 81.3% | 84.7% | 86.5% | 85.2% |
| Eugene (Cole R-5) | 87.3% | 90.9% | 90.5% | 91.2% | 91.1% |
| Russellville | 86.8% | 92.7% | 92.7% | 91.8% | 83.3% |
| Blair Oaks | 94.4% | 97.4% | 97.1% | 95.2% | 97.6% |
| Fatima (Osage R-3) | 92.9% | 96.4% | 92% | 95.8% | 95.3% |
| Fulton | 77.8% | 72.6% | 70.9% | 81.2% | 79.7% |
| Linn (Osage R-2) | 93.8% | 93.1% | 89.2% | 84.5% | 89.4% |
| California (Moniteau R-1) | 82.1% | 83.7% | 90% | 85% | 88.1% |
| Eldon | 76.8% | 78.9% | 84.7% | 87% | 85.3% |
| School of the Osage | 86.6% | 88% | 96.1% | 96.3% | 91.9% |
| Versailles (Morgan R-2) | 84.3% | 84.7% | 89.9% | 83.1% | 89.7% |
| Iberia | 89.1% | 89.2% | 89.7% | 91% | 93.3% |
| Vienna (Maries R-1) | 88.1% | 94.1% | 90.9% | 91.7% | 89.7% |
| Moberly | 75.4% | 75.8% | 87.2% | 82.4% | 87.9% |
| Boonville | 88.2% | 84.8% | 90.7% | 91% | 92.1% |
| State of Missouri | 85.6% | 86% | 85.8% | 86.3% | 85.2% |
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