Dropout Rates Disturbing

When parents think of their child's education, they focus on their children's achievements. A parent would usually know if their son or daughter drops out of school...although that is not always the case. While I think my children do well in school for the most part, I need to be aware of the larger picture. Not only are many of the schools not teaching the children well, the schools are not keeping the kids there.
An article in the St. Louis Post, St. Louis Dropout Rates Skyrockets; Missouri Holds Steady shows me that while some areas are retaining the kids, others are not.

Nearly a fourth of the high school students in St. Louis Public Schools dropped out last school year, according to data to be released by the state today.At 22 percent, it is the single largest spike in city school dropout rates in the last five years, and an 88 percent increase from the prior year.Most area districts reported stable figures this year, or even fewer dropouts, and credited aggressive tactics, including home visits, attendance monitors and even college scholarships. Only the Kansas City district, which estimated its dropout rate at roughly 28 percent, reported numbers worse than St. Louis.

Here is what I see: the schools were not only unaccredited, now they fail to even keep those children in attendance. Now I am sure it is not simply the fault of the schools, but that should be the one angle we can control. We can't control individual parents and children, but we should collectively have an impact on the schools. Why do the public schools spend thousands more per student than the private schools, yet they are failing? Why are there so many people who think we should simply pump more money into the system and that will fix the problem?

We need a change in how the schools and the education system as a whole are run. How many more kids can we afford to have dropout, turn to crime, or live on the streets?