10.20.10 | Rep. Scott Delivers Keynote at Event Focused on Dropout Crisis in America

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA– This evening, Representative Bobby Scott (VA-3) will join best-selling author John Grisham and other experts at the Paramount Theatre in Charlottesville for the Legal Aid Justice Center's event entitled "Dropped Out." The event will examine the current dropout crisis, describe the perverse incentives that cause it, explain strategies to address it, and discuss ways for concerned community members to get involved.

The evening's events will include keynote address by Rep. Scott and a screening of the film "Pushed", a student-produced documentary that highlights the effects of this crisis in our nation's schools as seen through the eyes of students, parents and teachers in a Connecticut school division. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion including Rep. Scott, Dr. Rosa Atkins, Superintendent of Charlottesville schools, Dr. Dewey Cornell, UVA Education Professor, and a representative from the Legal Aid Justice Center.

In his remarks, Rep. Scott will address the societal and economic implications of the dropout crisis, including juvenile delinquency and gang involvement. He will also discuss proposed legislative solutions, including the Every Student Counts Act and the Youth Prison Reduction through Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Support and Education, or Youth PROMISE Act, two bills he has introduced in Congress.

"When I use the term ‘dropout crisis,' I don't do so lightly," Scott said. "America's youth are dropping out of school at such an alarming rate that the results are catastrophic not for only dropouts, but also for communities and for the nation as a whole. We must take action to improve the future of these individual children and to preserve the American way of life."

The Legal Aid Justice Center provides legal representation for low-income individuals in Virginia. The Center is committed to providing a full range of services to its clients, including services that federal and state governments choose not to fund. The Center also sponsors the program "Just Children," which works to improve Virginia's public education, juvenile justice, and foster care systems. It engages in direct representation of clients, education and outreach, and advocacy efforts to improve the well being of children and youth. "Just Children" is a coalition partner in the Dignity in Schools Campaign, which works to ensure that children are treated with dignity and fairness in schools and to provide concrete alternatives to a culture of removal and punishment.

The event begins at 7 p.m. at The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main Street, Downtown Mall, Charlottesville, VA.

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