Do after-school programs help close the academic gap in African American and Latino middle school students?
Many middle school students who are failing academically will become part of the ever-increasing drop out statistics in our nation. More than 7000 students in the U.S.become dropouts every school day, nearly 1.3 million students per year. It is estimated that dropouts from 2006 alone will cost taxpayers $17 billion in Medicaid and uninsured medical expenses alone over the ir lifetimes (Alliance for Excellence Education, 2010). Sadly, dropouts often have children that become dropouts and a cycle is created which continues (Dropout and TruancyPrevention,2011). Given these statistics and costs to society, it is imperative that we seek solutions to this problem.
The concern for at-risk students and dropout
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Young adolescents offer afterschool providers a special set of challenges which they must overcome in order to attract and retain participants. For example, young adolescents are more autonomous, busier, better able and more likely to articulate specific needs, and less appeased by activities designed for a general audience. While youth in grades six through eight can clearly benefit from participation in afterschool, programs must recognize the needs of these youth and employ innovative strategies to attract and keep them engaged.
The goal was to also gain a better understanding of the perceptions of administrators, teachers, and students in order to determine which aspects of the afterschool program were perceived as engaging and served to promote student achievement. As schools struggle to meet federal achievement standards, after-school programs being viewed as a source of academic support for youth at risk of school failure. Including a disproportionally large number of economically disadvantaged and ethnic minority
“In urban areas, dropout rates among minority and low-income students can reach 50 percent, with rates being highest for African-American and Latino males” (Bernstein-Yamashiro and Noam, 18). In a survey by the Civic Enterprises, 41 percent of dropouts reported that he or she had an adult to talk to about personal problems, 62 percent said they want to see schools do more to help, and 47 percent said schools contacted them after dropping out (Bernstein-Yamashiro and Noam, 18). The academic outcomes from student/teacher
In communities of color, 24 % of African-American children and 21 % of Hispanic children participate in after-school programs
In October 2000, the overall picture of high school dropouts had changed little since the late 1980s (Kaufman et al. 2001): For every 100 young adults enrolled in high school in October 1999, 5 had left school without completing a program; of 34.6 million U.S. young adults aged 16-24, 3.8 million—almost 11 percent—had not completed high school and were not enrolled. Some studies have shown that students in schools with a concentration of multiple risk factors (e.g., large schools, large classes, high poverty, inner city location) have less than one chance in two of graduating from high school; furthermore, the economic costs of dropping out have increased as time goes on (Castellano et al. 2001). Adjusting for 50
Dropout factories are a serious problem with high schools. A dropout factory is a school with a high number of dropouts. Middle schools feed poorly educated kids into high school. These kids are not ready for high school, so they drop out. There are more then 60 percent of kids who do not make it from freshman to sophomore year. There are over 1000-documented drop out factories in the United States. In one school, there were 1,2000 freshmen, and the next year there were under 300 sophomores. Most of the kids have at these schools had a third grade reading level. In one case,
Students who drop out of school have more likely to have been suspended numerous times when they were enrolled in school. The consequences of punitive discipline for this can be shattering. Kids who are repeatedly suspended, or expelled, are likely to fall behind in school. This is the part of the pipeline that leads to their eventual dropout. 3,030,000 students drop out of high school annually. That 's 8,300 a day! 75% of US crime is committed by a high school drop out. The research correlates dropout to suspensions and expulsions. Students
After watching the short film “The Middle School Moment,” and hearing the research finding of Dr. Robert Balfanz, took me by surprise on how serious the issue about kids dropping out is. I found it shocking in discovering that about 7,000 students dropped out of school everyday. Not only that but the fact that their personal lives and society play a huge role in their decisions, which schools tend to ignore. Another thing that I found interesting about the video was the prevention program that was adopted by Middle School 244 in the Bronx, and how it gave struggling students like Omarina Cabrera, the opportunity to continue their education after having issues preventing them from getting a proper education.
The America’s Promise Alliance released their 2014 Building a Grad Nation report highlighting that, “for the first time in U.S. history the nation’s on-time high school graduation rate rose above 80 percent.” While this is a huge accomplishment for the organization, and its partners that have been devoted to helping create conditions for educational success for all young people, there is still a remaining 20 percent of students not completing high school. In 2013, nearly 4.1 million students enrolled in 9th grade, following this statistic as a guide, an estimated 820,000 students will not complete high school with their peers. History has shown that while it may not be the root cause, dropping out of high school has been correlated with
Did you know that 1.2 million high school students drop out of school every year just in the United States alone (11 Facts)? The decrease of high school graduation rates is a fairly important issue, and there are plenty of reasons to propose a change. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the current standard dropout rate of high school students is 7.4%. High school dropouts encounter way more difficulties and challenges than a high school graduate would. An average high school drop out lacks the basic education that one needs in order to be successful in life. They are more likely to face problems dealing with financial insecurity, communication skills, and of course, educational matters. With a high school diploma, one is more likely to get hired for a job, earn a higher income, and educate oneself even further. Some possible causes of high school students dropping out include stress, boredom, family problems, pregnancies, and drugs. With that said, with every issue, there is always a solution. By taking the problem at hand and looking at it from a broad perspective, we can thoroughly identify the source of the high dropout rates of U.S. high school students. There are countless factors that may be the cause of this epidemic, but a few ideas including making learning more relevant, limiting the workload given to students, and providing mandatory classes on drugs and safe sex may possibly be a solution to this
“A recent, systematic review of research exploring dropping out of high school indicates that grade retention is one of the most powerful predictors of dropping out of high school” (Jimerson 6). This alarming fact should be the main reason to stop grade retention in schools. Especially since interventions provide an alternative that promotes the student keeping them engaged and in school. It costs roughly $18 billion per year to keep grade retention an option in schools (Powell 29), which results in the student eventually dropping out. Instead, these funds should be used towards intervention programs that promote success and prevent some of the negative consequence’s grade retention presents, possibly at a fraction of the cost. With that being said, schools should be providing targeted interventions in order to provide students with the best chances of
The authors of this article summarized recent high school reform efforts focusing on preventing dropouts. Of specific interest were the effects of the middle to high school transition on students’ academic progress. The authors reviewed the promising practices designed to keep students moving successfully towards graduation.
Generally, these programs can be school- or community-based. These programs offer many different ways of assisting students. After school tutoring at no cost, career/technical education, counseling, parent outreach, and some even offer internships and/or paid employment for students. Giving students a chance to become a successful person may lead to a healthy law abiding citizen. If given the proper tools and assistance these programs work. “(2011) analyzed the effect sizes of 317 unique study samples from 152 studies and found that dropout prevention programs had a significant effect on school dropout (odds ratio=1.72), meaning that students in dropout prevention programs had lower school dropout rates and higher graduation rates compared with the control group students. Further, Tanner–Smith and Wilson (2013) analyzed 24 studies that used a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design and also found a significant effect on school dropout outcomes (odds ratio=1.34). This means that students who participated in dropout prevention programs showed significantly lower dropout rates compared with control group students” ("Dropout Prevention
When most people hear the words “after school program,” the first thoughts that cross their minds are often associated with babysitting. However, that is not the case. An after school program is a place where children are able to grow and develop their developmental skills. After school programs are able to help children in impoverished neighborhood, are able to stop the cycle of poverty, and are able to create new circumstances for their lives (After School Alert Issue Brief). A belief shared throughout most after school programs is that they should serve in areas of all socioeconomic classes. Although many people believe that after school programs are expensive, the benefits one receives from a program
Did you know that in a single year about 1.2 millions students dropout from high school in the United States that's a student every 26 seconds, or 7,000 a day. Even about 25% of high school freshman will drop out before graduating. With so many high school dropouts, it leaves schools wondering why students are dropping out and their reason for it. In the 1970s-1990s areas with low income housing resulted in high crime statistics and dangerous choices in the youth of the time were a major cause in high high school dropout rates.
High school dropout rate is a significant indicator of future success in life. For high school dropouts, it is harder to find jobs and earn as much money as their graduated peers. On the outside looking in, not being able to graduate is usually associated with school performance, socioeconomic status, parents’ education level and/or lack of motivation. Moreover, there are also underlying factors of race and gender and they both affect performance in high school immensely. In order to study dropout rates, focus should be put on the group of students at risk of dropping out.
Education reform has been at the forefront of federal legislation for the past few decades. Despite the academic gains made since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB; a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act first enacted in 1965 and reauthorized in 1994), nearly one-third of all high school students leave the public school system before graduating (Orfield, Losen, and Swanson, 2004), and the problem is particularly severe among students of color and students with disabilities (Greene & Winters, 2005). By the end of the 2011 school year it is estimated that more than 1.2 million of the nation’s students would decide to dropout of high school (Altenbaugh, Engel & Martin (1995); Cortez and Cortez (2004). One of the greatest challenges for educators and educational institutions revolves around dropout prevention and ensuring students are enrolled through high school until they graduate. In California continuation high schools are invisible school settings due to the perception communities have established overtime. However, state school authorities estimate that over 115,000 California high school students will pass through one of the state’s 519 continuation high schools each year, either on their way to