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Low Income Students Dropout

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Most parents want to see their children graduate from high school, but that’s not the case for everyone. If one comes from a low income household, the chances of dropping out is higher than someone from a high income household. According to the NCES (National Center for Education Statistics), a student who comes from a low income household is six times more likely to dropout from high school than a student from a high income household (Sikhan). The reasons why low income students dropout from high school varies, but it’s more important to question why students from low income households are more likely to dropout. The percentages of children living in poverty in the U.S. by race are sixty five percent for Blacks, sixty three percent for both …show more content…

I plan to solve this problem by creating an organization that will help low income students graduate from high school. Low income students and minorities are highly affected by dropout rates (Messacar). Dropping out of high school puts one at a disadvantage compared to those who graduated. Those who dropout “earns less money, is more likely to be in jail, is less healthy, is less likely to be married, and is unhappier than a high school graduate” (Messacar). Additionally, “high school dropouts are seventy two percent more likely to be unemployed as compared to high school graduates” and nearly eighty percent of prisoners don’t have a high school diploma (McKeon). If we can get more students to graduate from college, that would result in less people going to jail and more people living comfortably. According to Colorado’s Department of Education, some of the reasons why students drop out are because of life events, being bored, being encouraged by the school to drop out and failing to succeed. All of these reasons put low income students at a disadvantage. Life events can include teen pregnancy, incarceration, or the need to financially support their family (CDE). Also, by failing to succeed, some schools don’t adequately prepare students academically and fail to support their students in school (CDE). This shows that we need to find ways to support students through …show more content…

My solution to low high school graduation rates among low income students is to create an organization like Upward Bound and College Track. I want to take combine the qualities of both organizations into one. The organization would be called Beyond Above.The Beyond Above programs will be located in low performing schools in low income neighborhoods. Beyond Above will help students receive the resources that they need throughout high school and college. We will provide students with tutoring and life coaching skills. Each of our students will have mentors that will make sure they’re on track to graduate high school and follow them throughout college. Beyond Above will focus on encouraging high schools students to have a passion for education and their community. Beyond education, it will be highly encouraged for our students to participate in a community event at least once every two months. We want our students to be fully engaged with the community and their engagement may encourage the younger youth to have a passion for education. Funding will come from sponsors, foundations, the government and any additional donations. We

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