Project Update

So far, I’ve learned that the dropout crisis is very complex, and involves some pretty tough issues, and that in Newark, NJ is a program called the New Jersey High School Graduation Campaign, a program aimed at reducing what are unacceptably high drop out rates. I have yet to answer the question of how.

After looking through some of the research surrounding the issue, I have been struck by some common themes. For one thing, communities in which students don’t graduate are usually poor, and house minorities. For these students in these communities, dropping out is commonplace, a routine alternative. Where it is nearly unheard of in middle class suburbia, regular discharge from high school is part of life for many in urban schools.

In Framing Dropouts by Michelle Fine, the picture painted is pretty bleak. The teachers and administration come across as out of touch or corrupted by a failing system. Instead of pushing students to succeed, students are pushed out. Truancy, pregnancy, and violence are common. Family life is sometimes scattered, and students are unaware of their rights. A common thread is grade retention, often associated with dropping out. This was echoed by other research.

Also disturbing was the description of the options that high school dropouts were given, and the attitudes held by the students themselves regarding their options. GED programs were described as sub-par and difficult. The military was painted as an equally bleak option as opposed to an opportunity. Low-paying jobs with sketchy training targeted those desperate for income.

The New Jersey High School Graduation Campaign aims to increase the number of graduates from New Jersey High Schools. It demonstrates the benefits to individuals in terms of earning potential and family structure, and the benefits to society as well. According to the data, minorities drop out far more frequently than their white peers, and poor districts have a higher dropout rate as well. It mentions that teens are arrested more frequently than the rest of the population, and that prison inmates are more likely to have been dropouts. It cites economic advantages to the state as well.

There is an event this Friday that I hope to attend parts of, although realistically it may not happen. However, I’m really hoping to sneak over for a bit and see what kind of information is being presented. Additionally, I plan to head into Newark and check out the neighborhood. I feel that I’m getting some really good information regarding dropout reasons, but am getting the impression that the large overhaul needed to solve the problem is going to be as complex as the issue itself.