Inquiry Project Introduction

One of the problems facing urban area schools is a high dropout rate. It has been predicted that with our changing economy, competition for high-paying quality jobs will be intense. Students who do not complete high school and subsequently do not enroll in institutes for continuing education will be at a severe disadvantage when it comes to landing a decent position. When a decision made at sixteen can have a detrimental effect on future quality of life, and is being made by a considerable proportion of students, it is an issue that should be addressed. In addition, such individuals are more likely to be on the receiving end of welfare, thereby increasing the strain on an already overburdened system. The aim of this inquiry will be to look closely a school in Newark that has succeeded in increasing its graduation rate.

The initial portion of my inquiry will concern the dropout crisis in general. Several factors are potential trends associated with an increased dropout rate. In urban areas, schools are not always in tune with community needs. Additionally, in urban areas where income falls below or near the poverty level, home life and priorities are not in sync with educational goals, and vice versa. Teachers in urban areas sometimes lack training that prepares them for urban classrooms, thereby decreasing their efficacy. There has been a darker side to standardized accountability testing as well, one that results in grade retention and dropout, often disproportionately effecting minorities. On the flip side, some schools have implemented programs that adequately address these concerns. What have these schools done right? What challenges did they overcome, and what areas are they still struggling with?

This community inquiry will utilize data collected from analysis of a Newark school that has shown a steady decline in the dropout rate. By analyzing the community, the school, the faculty, and the student body, I hope to identify the reasons for this success, and determine if the school used methods that could be incorporated by other districts. Traditional reasons for increased dropout rates and possible local causes will be discussed. The inquiry will provide an overview of the school and its history. It will examine the community from which its student body is derived. Notable characteristics of faculty and administrators as well as training programs will be examined. In addition, the decline in the rate for this particular school should be noted, and direct actions by the school that produced this result will be identified. Finally, some possible suggestions for increasing retention rates as provided by interviews and through analysis will be mentioned.