The reasons for students dropping out have more to do with than just the schooling itself (News, “Thumbsdown: Dropout Factories,” April 2-9). Even though students nowadays are not being punished effectively enough at school to get the point across to them, there are other factors, which play into the overall reasons. Another reason includes the environment the students are raised in at home. The parents are supposed to be an effective tool during this period in a person’s life in terms of raising them. If the parents are not able to control the actions of their kids during this period of their lives, than a majority of those kids will not have a prosperous future for themselves later in life. I do not live in the Indianapolis area or teach there, but until things improve, I will never live in an area where my kids would have to attend a school there.