High School Dropout Rates of Hispanics

in New York City

 

PPA Webquest by Luisa Padilla-Korber at I.S. 52, M

mrs.padilla@inwood52.org

 

 

The Introduction:

New York City is an economic and social capital of the world.

 

We have Wall Street, and continually host parties for the rich and famous; we have the best and most prestigious universities in the world; we have one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse cities in the world, providing a home and education for the families of children from all over the world.

However, more than 20% of black and Hispanic students do not finish high school.

While the overall New York State graduation rate increased to 74.9 percent from the previous year’s 74 percent, large achievement gaps remain, particularly with respect to the Regents with Advanced Designation diploma, which requires the completion of additional rigorous course work in preparation for college and careers. 

The groups at biggest risk of falling into this gap are black and Hispanic males in large city schools.

Statistics show that among all ethnic groups, Hispanics lead in dropping out and are behind in graduating.

 

 

 

That number drops to 1 in 10 in low-income neighborhoods.

 

Without a diploma, there are limited jobs for which you can compete, and those jobs often do not pay well.

 

 

According to OUR VISION from Teach for America

“People from all corners of the United States and the world are proud to call New York City home. We lead on many fronts, but too many of our students aren't getting the world class education they deserve. To be our city’s educators, engineers, entrepreneurs, and elected officials of tomorrow, all children need an excellent education today.
Our vision is that ONE DAY IN NYC, every pre-K through 12th grade student will have the opportunity to attend great neighborhood schools – schools that support, inspire, and challenge them to become the leaders our city needs.”

 

 

The Task:

WE kNOW tHE pROBLEM.                                wE need A solutioN.

 

The NYC School Chancellor Carmen Farina is asking your school to create posters or advertisements in Spanish or English that significantly reduce the drop-out rate of Hispanic youth in the NYC school system.  Money is no object because the Chancellor feels that this problem is so important that she will give you all the resources you need, including internet resources to help you with your resources. You may use additional resources, including interviews of members of your community. The advertisements chosen will need to be politically acceptable to the members of the school board. Your posters will be used throughout the Inwood neighborhood as a pilot project.  If your advertisement campaign is successful, it will be expanded to other neighborhoods around the City.

 Carmen Farina wants your team to research the problem then present your proposed advertisement campaign at a community school board meeting next month. Your advertisement strategy needs to be accompanied by a 2-4 page explanation that will:

1. identify the consequences of dropping out on the student, the family, and their larger community

2.  analyze root causes of the drop-out problem

3. prioritize the causes of dropping out to justify the focus of your advertisements

4.  identify the specific demographic  population  (age, behavior, gender) that will be addressed by your advertising efforts

5.  recommend optimal locations  or venues to reach your target population.

The team members that design the posters chosen will each be given a monetary reward, plus invited with your parents to a luncheon with the Chancellor.  In addition, Ms. Farina expects that if your plan is successful, you will each become renown all across the country. 

 

 

The Process:

a) Teams will be made up of 4-5 members. Each group member needs to read all the online resources. They may add additional resources such as articles or interviews that add to their knowledge of the problem. Each team member is a researcher.

 

b) Use the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) Worksheets (6 steps) to guide you through your analysis and evaluation of the Hispanic high school drop-out problem.

 

Click on and complete each worksheet to guide you step-by-step through the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) Process: 

1. Define the Problem: Worksheet#1

2. Gather the Evidence: Worksheet #2

3. Identify the Causes: Worksheet #3

4. Evaluate an Existing Policy: Worksheet #4

5. Develop Solutions: Worksheet #5

6. Select the Best Solution: Worksheet#6 (Feasibility vs. Effectiveness)

 

c) As your team does each worksheet the roles of the team should rotate. Every member should have an opportunity to take each role at least once.

 

Group roles:

Facilitator - keep everyone on track, divide assignments fairly among members, and give all members a turn to contribute, keep track of time deadlines

Worksheet writer – get the ideas down so the group can refer to them

Note-taker/ Recorder of ideas – keep track of ideas developed that may need to be pursued or further worked on, this includes creative ideas* for the ads, primary writer of the final paper ( all should  help with editing)

Researcher – cite the evidence in the research for ideas and opposing positions, keep the discussion grounded in evidence, including the evaluation rubric; every member should be doing this, but the researcher is responsible for keeping ideas from relying just on opinions; controls the computer.

*Creative Consultant (5^th member) - keep notes of artistic connections for the posters or ad campaign, sketch images or scripts or dialogue

 

d) After completing the last worksheet the team will assign each member a permanent role (above) and tasks for the remainder of the project work. The team can divide into different partnerships to write portions of the paper on the consequences and causes of the high NYC drop-out rate among Hispanics, and develop different posters or advertisement ideas.

 

e) Partnerships must show their progress to the facilitator. Members will be assigned tasks by the facilitator.

 

f) Outstanding work is the goal. Members should help each other.

 

 

Resources:

• NYC Graduation Rates., especially pages 6 & 7
• 2014 NY Times Article on the still disappointing Graduation Rate
• http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/NY-GRADUATION-RATES-TRAGIC-FOR-BLACK-HISPANIC-BOYS-171043271.html
• http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=high-school-dropout-rates
• http://www.prx.org/playlists/199109 - especially Left Behind, Dropping

·         Out; Second Chance Diploma: Examining the GED; The College Dream: Hour 1 of Community Forum from Radio Bilingue/ Part of Diploma en Mano

·         Chancellor Carmen Farina's plan for low performance schools

·         Small Schools and the Graduation Rate

·         The Cincinnati Community School Model being used by Farina

 

 

The Evaluation Rubric:

 

 

The Conclusion:

• Each team member has become knowledgeable about a complex social problem that affects your community and people, the drop-out rate among Hispanic youth. You have created an advertisement that may persuade someone to finish high school and get their diploma. You should be very proud of your efforts to correct the problem. You can now speak with compassion and intelligence to encourage others to “stay in school.”
• Discuss the most important thing you learned by doing this web quest. What would you suggest should be added to this process to make your study of the subject more helpful?
• What would you suggest as a next step in this work as a result of your findings?
• What problems did you encounter? How would you solve them next time?

 

 

Standards:

6^th Grade Standards

Reading Standards for Informational Text  

1. Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. 

2. Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.

3. Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events). 

a. Use their experience and their knowledge of language and logic, as well as culture, to think analytically, address problems creatively, and advocate persuasively. 

 

Common Core Writing Standards

1. Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

a. Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.  

b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence.

d. Establish and maintain a formal style. 

e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

 

Standards:

Social Studies: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1 and RH.6.8.7

CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.a
Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context, such as by reporting the number of observations.

Use math shift to ratios and proportional relationships