PROJECT CRITICAL

High School dropout rate in the Washington

Heights Community

INTRODUCTION:

Washington Heights is located in the northernmost part of the island of Manhattan. It is a growing community where the majority of the population is from the Dominican Republic. Dominicans began their migration to the United States after civil unrest in their homeland in 1965. These immigrants settled in Washington Heights where there was a high number of Latinos from Cuba and Puerto Rico. The influx continued steadily during the 70’s however, during the 80’s a high number of Dominicans immigrated due to an economic standstill in their homeland. Today, Dominicans continue migrate to Washington Heights

Most of the inhabitants of Washington Heights are children ranging in age from infancy to 17 years of age. This population describes you! Look to your left - Look to your right – they will not graduate from high school. Do you see a problem with that? There are several. The most prominent is the HIGH DROP OUT RATE

for Dominican youth. Without a good education, Dominican youth are doomed to poverty. This is a critical social problem, not only for the Dominican people but for all citizens of the country.

In this web quest you have an opportunity to evaluate the social problem of excessive school drop outs and find meaningful solutions to the problem You have a chanced to be a public policy analyst. This can save the lives of many in Washington Heights and improve the quality of life of all New Yorkers. Good luck. You have an important task ahead.

TASK:

Students will engage in a public awareness campaign on the importance of remaining in school. They will create a brochure in which they will highlight the importance of completing high school and attaining a college degree. Students will work on developing these brochures during computer class and during their specials. Once the brochures done the students will go on a Saturday in late October and disseminate these brochures to the Community emphasizing the importance of attaining an education.

PROCESS:

1. Your will be put in groups of 4

2. You will ALL conduct research using the 6-Step Public Policy Analysis questions to gather evidence about the drop out rate in Washington Heights

3. Come up with convincing research on why so many Latino are dropping out of school

4. You will identify at least 6 solid reasons for kids to remain in school and aspire for college degrees

5. Use the webpage links on the bottom to guide you

6. You will use the six-step public policy analyst as an outline for your brochure. All six steps will be included on the brochure.

In your groups of four you will all conduct research

Project leader – you will be responsible for keeping the group on task and making sure everyone in the group completes the worksheets below on time

Researchers – you will each be responsible for two steps in the 6-step Public Analysis Question. You will work closely with all members in the group to help them complete their tasks.

Project leader and one other member will complete worksheet 1, 2, and 3

The other two members will complete worksheet 4, 5 and 6

You will each have 2 weeks to complete the worksheets

STEPS OF THE PPA –

Your group will complete the six worksheets on the Public Policy Analyst web site. Access each link below and complete all the sheets

Defining the social problem

Worksheet #1 – Identifying the Problem

Worksheet #2 – Gathering Evidence

Worksheet #3 – Determining Causes

Worksheet #4 – Evaluate Present Policies

Worksheet #5 – Developing New Policies

Worksheet #6 – Choose the Best Solution

RESOURCES:

Here are some links to gather information for your brochure

Defining Dropouts: A Statistical Portrait

Schools Plan to Pay Cash for Marks

High School Dropout Rates- US Department of Education Article

Community Snapshot 2007-CD 12: Washington Heights, Inwood

1990 & 2000 Demographic Statistics- from NY Public library

New Studies Profile Problems Facing New York City Latinos- Study from CUNY graduate center

GENERAL RESOURCES

https://www.google.com/

http://www.yahoo.com/

http://kids.yahoo.com/

EVALUATION:

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Content - Accuracy	All facts in the brochure are accurate.	99-90% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.	89-80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.	Fewer than 80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.
Writing - Organization	Each section in the brochure has a clear beginning, middle, and end.	Almost all sections of the brochure have a clear beginning, middle and end.	Most sections of the brochure have a clear beginning, middle and end.	Less than half of the sections of the brochure have a clear beginning, middle and end.
Writing - Mechanics	Capitalization and punctuation are correct throughout the brochure.	Capitalization and punctuation are correct throughout the brochure after feedback from an adult.	There are 1-2 capitalization and/or punctuation errors in the brochure even after feedback from an adult.	There are several capitalization or punctuation errors in the brochure even after feedback from an adult.
Attractiveness & Organization	The brochure has exceptionally attractive formatting and well-organized information.	The brochure has attractive formatting and well-organized information.	The brochure has well-organized information.	The brochure's formatting and organization of material are confusing to the reader.
Graphics/Pictures	Graphics go well with the text and there is a good mix of text and graphics.	Graphics go well with the text, but there are so many that they distract from the text.	Graphics go well with the text, but there are too few and the brochure seems "text-heavy".	Graphics do not go with the accompanying text or appear to be randomly chosen.
Knowledge Gained	All students in the group can accurately answer all questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure.	All students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure.	Most students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure.	Several students in the group appear to have little knowledge about the facts or technical processes used in the brochure.

Rubric

Tally score_______

Final Score: _______

Scale

6 – 11 = 1 18 – 21 = 3

12 – 17 = 2 23 – 24 = 4

CONCLUSION:

You have helped your school, your community and your fellow students. You have created awareness, using the six steps of the PPA and working with your group to help solve the problem of the drop out rate in Washington Heights. You have witnessed, first hand, the role of the public policy analyst. In fact, you have become one. You have identified a social problem and found public policies and information on how to address the problem. Thanks for your participation. I know you made a difference. Remember if only one person was impacted by the information in your brochure, that person will tell another and another. Pretty soon you will see how your seed of knowledge grows into a community effort to solve the problem.

STANDARDS ADRESSED

LANGUAGE ARTS

Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.

Listening and reading to acquire information and understanding involves collecting data, facts, and ideas; discovering relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and using knowledge from oral, written and electronic sources. Speaking and writing to acquire and transmit information requires asking probing and clarifying questions, interpreting information in one’s own words, applying information from one context to another, and presenting the information clearly, concisely, and comprehensibly.

Standard 3:   Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

Standard 4:   Language for Social Interaction

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS

Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.