Issue: High School Dropouts Our Action Reflections Over the course of the school year, a group of seniors at Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester researched the dropout crisis, which is affecting youth across America, particularly those in the inner city. We researched what causes students to dropout and the consequences of dropping out. We also researched the inequalities revealed by the dropout crisis, inequalities along lines of race, class, space, and gender. We then constructed a public art piece consisting of jaw-dropping statistics about the prevalence and consequences of this growing problem and moving testimonies from actual dropouts, teachers, school administrators, and parents. We displayed our public art piece at the Lewenberg Middle School and the Codman Square branch of the Boston Public Library. In conjunction with our public art displays, we presented information about the dropout crisis at various Boston Public Schools. Click here to see our Powerpoint presentation. The dropout crisis is a developing epidemic across the U.S. We hope that our public art display will raise awareness about the dropout crisis and inspire people at all levels in the educational system to make changes that will promote higher retention rates and meaningful educational experiences for our youth. We want students to stay in school. However, even more importantly, we want those in power to build schools and communities that will inspire high levels of educational engagement and performance. To support these goals, we also testified at the state house in support of Senate Bill 290.  Click here to see a copy of our testimonies.

"My experience is that there are two primary reasons students drop out. Some students drop out because they are so far behind academically that they lose hope of catching up to graduate. Other students drop out because they are clinically depressed, which makes it appear as if they do not care. However, they care very deeply. As educators, we need to design programs that are tailored to older students who wish to return to school, so that we turn "drop out" into "step out," which would allow students to then step back in!"

-A Boston Principal

"It's a little irrational, but I wish there weren't so many "traditional" high schools. More "alternative" high schools could work independently with individual students to help them satisfy their needs and wants."

-A High School Dropout

"`Drop out"' is very often the wrong term. 'Push out' would be a much better term. From a superficial, conservative perspective it is the students who are 'choosing' to drop out; and yet, behind every 'dropout' is a young person who has been 'pushed out' of the public education system.

-A Boston Teacher

"As soon as I stepped through the doors of Boston Latin I knew they held high expectations that I wasn't prepared to meet. The work there was heavy and strenuous and I could not handle it. There were huge class sizes so one-on-one help was scarce. With all the expected extracurricular activities, time was minimal for homework and studying. I had to repeat the 11^th grade and then decided I that I had to move on. I just couldn't do it anymore."

-A Boston Student

-A Boston Teacher

? In 1986, 36.5% of Latino youth and 30.8% of Black youth dropped out of high school. In 2003, despite intensive national education reform and the high-stakes testing movement, the statistics had hardly changed; 35% of Latinos and 30.8% of Blacks failed to earn a high school diploma.

? The Massachusetts Department of Education predicts that 30.7% of Boston students in the Class of 2007 will have dropped out of high school by the time of their scheduled graduation.

? 55% of all juniors and 35% of seniors in Massachusetts who dropped out of high school had not passed the MCAS, a high stakes test that MA students must pass in order to earn a high school diploma.

"As a mother of two children who are out of school, one who graduated and went on to college and one who did not graduate but went to an alterative school and got a GED, I ask myself why that one child did not graduate? I can give you many reasons. He is a young man who was raised by just his mother. The streets were offering him what he thought was a better life. The schools he went to didn't give him the support he needed."

-A Mother of A High School Dropout

 "Not having a high school diploma or any type of post high school professional training for that matter is a huge barrier to opportunity in an American society which limits one's ability to provide a quality standard of living for oneself and one's family. I've seen too many students failed by the system who will have to struggle to make a life."

-A Boston teacher

"I think one of the biggest things that teachers/schools can do to prevent students from dropping out of school is to make the curriculum directly related to topics in which students are interested. I also believe that building into the educational experience internships and apprenticeships in fields related to students' talents and interests would go along way towards motivating students to complete high school."

-A Boston Teacher 

"I had several reasons for withdrawing from school. The first reason was that I had difficulties with peers. Another reason was that the classes were big and seeing that English is my second language, I needed more attention from teachers, especially in math, history, and science. The final reason was that I had low self-esteem and was intimidated at school by peers, faculty, and staff."

-A Boston Student