Conference looks to keep boys in school

SANDIA PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) - Educators and community members from across New Mexico will meet Tuesday to find out why education is failing boys.

The New Mexico Men's Council for Boys and Young Men will hold its second annual conference at Sandia Resort and Casino. The gathering will focus on closing the achievement gap for boys in education.

Conference organizers say dropout data from 2008 show that fewer than half the boys in New Mexico graduate from high school and only about 42 percent of students in colleges and universities are male.

They say as boys leave school, many turn to drugs and alcohol and violence which then drives up rates of addiction and domestic violence.

The organizers hope the conference will help mobilize parents, teachers, administrators and students to address the problem.