Here are some numbers that politicians should heed.

A recent bipartisan poll commissioned by the Alliance for Excellent Education, a policy and advocacy organization that pushes for curbing the dropout rate and college preparedness, revealed that many voters believe that President Barack Obama, the U.S. Congress and the nation's governors need to do more for America's public high schools.

The poll, which was conducted by firms run by Democratic pollster Celinda Lake and Republican pollster Christine Matthews, found that around 49 percent of voters think that Obama isn't paying enough attention to high schools.

Sixty-two percent say that Republicans aren't paying attention, while 58 percent say that Democrats aren't.

But that's not all.

The poll showed that voters see a clear connection between producing educated youths and the ability for the country to compete economically. For example, 69 percent of voters believe that a high dropout rate will hinder the nation's economy significantly, while 65 percent say that a high dropout rate will hurt the United States in competing globally.

But that's still not all.

Eight in 10 voters say that reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act - the main federal law that provides K-12 funding to the states - is an issue for them. Also, more than half of voters also say that their decision to vote for an incumbent official will hinge on whether Congress acts to reform the current incarnation of the No Child Left Behind Act.

According to the poll, 52 percent of the nation's voters believe No Child Left Behind has done a fair or poor job of improving schools in their community, and they want to see it revisited.

This says that, as polarized as the nation may seem, most voters agree that secondary education is far too important to be sacrificed on the altar of politics and partisanship. They're seeing the future, and they know that the path to that future starts with a stronger high school education.

And, it seems, they're willing to use the voting booth as a place to blaze it.