How many of our youth are we losing in Hawai'i and in this country?

Too many.

I congratulate The Honolulu Advertiser on its recent series that focused on ninth-graders and the critical risk issues for this age group in the educational system.

I have been in Hawai'i a short time, but the challenges facing ninth-graders here also existed in Hartford, Conn., where I spent 18 years before coming here. This was also a key age group that the school system in Hartford identified.

There was the same recognition that this age group was a critical one to reach in developing dropout prevention efforts. However, one can reasonably ask, as at least one responder to your series expressed, how soon is soon enough? In other words, can we be effective if we intervene at ninth grade or do we need to intervene sooner?

If what we see is that children who are socially promoted to ninth grade don't have enough mastery of eighth-grade or earlier learning, then intervention may be too late by ninth grade. Another question to be raised is whether it makes sense to mix 9th graders in the high school. As high schools now look to develop smaller learning academies within Grade 9, there seems to be some recognition that ninth-graders may need a more gradual transition to high school learning and social adjustment.

In reading the series I got the sense that ninth grade is not the root of the problem, but a key turning point for students in terms of the potential for dropping out. The sense of the series was that ninth graders were suddenly faced with a higher level of academics that many felt ill prepared to handle, thus leading to many giving up and losing hope that they can ever catch up.

In Hartford, a city that has a very troubled school system with very low test scores and high dropout rates, kindergarten and other elementary school teachers would tell me that they could recognize a student who was at risk of failure (and therefore later dropout) by kindergarten or first grade. This raises the question of how early we intervene to ensure that our youth have the best possible chance for academic success.

I also applaud the Advertiser for providing information about alternative educational programs that can prevent dropouts or help youth who have dropped out to complete their high school education. At Child and Family Service we offer two programs for children who are just not making it in a mainstream classroom environment.

Hale O 'Ulu is an alternative school for children in the seventh through 12th grades. We are proud to say that four of our students have just successfully completed their credits for a high school diploma. Child and Family Service also provides two Intensive Learning Centers (ILCs) programs in 'Aiea and 'Ewa Beach for children with more severe behavioral or emotional problems, with the goal of helping them return to their high schools to graduate.

Why does a social service agency get involved in education? The answer is simple: children who fail or are at risk of failing and dropping out are at risk for many other problems in society, including teen pregnancy, substance abuse, gang involvement, juvenile delinquency, poverty, violence, and unemployment or under-employment.

At Child and Family Service, we believe that each child we help succeed academically has a more hopeful future. Each child we reach is now on a path towards health and achievement rather than a path towards hopelessness and failure. Hope and the ability to dream come out of experiences of some success, and we owe it to the next generation to help as many youth as possible to get on the path towards a healthy future.

Howard S. Garval is president and chief executive officer for Child and Family Service.