Latest news, weather and high school sports for Albany and Southwest Georgia

ALBANY, GA --
The Dougherty County School System has a surprisingly high drop out rate among high school students.

According to officials, there are two of the schools with a 50 percent drop out rate, and another with a 45 percent drop out rate.

The local chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha has partnered with various organizations in Georgia, and several attorney's, to help combat this problem. On Saturday they held a seminar to talk about the issue and some possible solutions.

Ira Foster, an attorney who attended the seminar said of the black males who drop out of high school, 70 percent of them are likely to end up going to jail or prison. Foster believes one thing causing the drop out rate to be so high is the strict punishments schools are enforcing. He says suspension should only be used as a last resort, because it's likely to spiral into several suspensions, which could likely lead to dropping out.

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