Although boys and girls who drop out of high school sometimes do so for similar reasons, there are also some clear gender differences in what drives them to drop out. If we are to make progress in supporting all students to graduate, we need to understand these different causes for boys and for girls, and create solutions tailored to anticipate, prevent and respond to them.

Graduation from high school is not only a rite of passage, it is the ticket to economic prosperity and quality of life. The formula is simple: High school graduates are more employable, healthier and more likely to have health insurance, all of which positively contribute to our economy.

But here’s the flip side of that formula: New graduation data show glaring achievement gaps for students of color and economically disadvantaged students.

There was a tale of two school districts on display at Baltimore's Walters Art Museum on Saturday morning. The occasion was Congressman Elijah Cummings's annual arts competition--an event in which students from high schools across his Congressional district submit their best work in the hopes of winning the honor of having their art hang in the bowels of the U.S. Capitol for one year.