It’s taken Martha Williams 28 years to realize the extent of the mistake she made when she dropped out of high school after becoming pregnant.

&#8220That seemed to be the only option back then,” said Williams, now 45 and the mother of five children.

But now, she’s trying to rectify her mistake – she’s studying for her GED – and she’s making plans to move into a position her newfound education will allow.

Her &#8220mistake” came in 1977, but students today are still dropping out of school, though statistics show the state rate of 26 percent is higher than the Vicksburg Warren School District’s 22 percent.

&#8220A lot of kids, for one reason or another, just don’t want to go to school,” said Charlie Tolliver, principal at Vicksburg High School, one of the 9,000-student district’s two high schools. &#8220And sadly, a lot of parents are OK with that.”

Williams is quick to note that the effects of dropping out can be felt decades after the fact.

The Vicksburg woman enrolled in the General Education Development program at Good Shepherd Community Center two weeks ago and expects to get her diploma in May.

&#8220Without a high school diploma or GED, you can’t go very far. I want to do this for a better job,” she said. &#8220I want to work with kids.”

Williams’ own five children range in ages 9 to 27.

&#8220We all make mistakes and learn from them. I’ve learned a lot, and I’m ready to learn more,” she said.

The state numbers were released by the Mississippi Department of Education, and the VWSD tracks local dropouts.

District officials said no exact numbers on yearly dropouts are available from the two local public high schools, which have a combined enrollment of 2,300, but they estimate according to graduation rates.

&#8220It’s never an easy subject to address,” Tolliver said. &#8220Any number we can come up with is never a truly accurate number because it’s impossible to track these students. You start tracking them in ninth grade, but then some transfer, some move away and others drop out. But of those who drop out, some come back months later to get a GED and some don’t.”

While most students are 18 when they graduate from high school, state and federal laws allow students to attend high school until age 21. The Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law requires students to stay in school until age 17.

&#8220You will hear some talking when they get in trouble or something about how they can’t wait until they’re 17 so they don’t have to go to school anymore,” Tolliver said.

Williams is one of 13 adults enrolled in the GED program at Good Shepherd.

All had their own reasons for dropping out of school, and most chose not to be identified.

&#8220I dropped out in ninth grade because I was ready to grow up too fast,” one woman said. &#8220I wanted to make money, so I quit school and took on three jobs. That still doesn’t get you as much money as having a high school diploma does, though.”

GED instructor Georgia Durman said the program is designed to work around the participants’ schedules.

&#8220Most of them are working or are at home being parents,” she said.

Another said he was having trouble keeping up with the math and English curriculum, so he left.

One woman dropped out to care for her ill child.

Still, others had different reasons, but now they’re studying again.

Durman said students are part of the program for as long as it takes them to pass every section of the GED – English, math, science, social studies and literature. The test is offered monthly at Hinds Community College.

She said working with adults is much easier because they’re focused on the task.

&#8220They’re dedicated and want to be here. They want to learn to make their lives better,” she said.

The Mississippi House of Representatives has passed two bills designed to tackle the state’s dropout rate.

One would create an Office of Dropout Prevention within the state Department of Education. The other would allow students to earn a high school diploma without taking certain college-prep courses.

Both bills have been held on a procedural motion that could allow more House debate later.