Dropping Out

Real Life and Fiction often mirror each other. As seen in Piri Thomas’ fictional autobiography “Down These Mean Streets”, many of the ills he lived through parallel experiences we live or see in our communities. One major social problem that our communities face is that of high drop rates.

TASK: You will conduct a web-based research to read more about the drop out problem in New York City and public policy on drop out prevention as well as finding agencies that provide support for individuals and families dealing with this problem.

PROCESS: In order to complete this web quest, first, you must follow the Public Policy steps found at the TIPS web site. At this web site, you will use the first six steps and you must complete the worksheets related to each of the Public Policy steps; in order to complete those steps you will, you will read about the problem related to the high dropout rates in teens, and answer questions related to the problem by using one of the related links. You must also find out what the Public Policy is on drop out preventions.

Worksheets 1-6 on the TIPS PPA website.

a. Define the Problem Worksheet 1 http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/select.html

b. Gather Evidence Worksheet 2 http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/gather.html

c. Identify Causes Worksheet 3 http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/identify.html

d. Evaluate Policy Worksheet 4 http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/existing.html

e. Develop Solutions Worksheet 5 http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/solutions.html

f. Select best Solution Worksheet 6 http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/bestsol.html

Questions related to Dropping out of school

1. Why do students drop out?

2. How many students drop out of high school?

3. How can you Identify teenagers who are at risk for failure?

4. What kind of Lives do Dropouts lead?

5. If a Teen Begins To Fail in School, What Can Parents and Teachers Do?

6. List some Strategies for Dropout Prevention

7. List some Dropout Indicators

8. What are the top 5 reasons to stay in school?

Resources

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/welcome.html (Tips Web-site)

http://www.snn-rdr.ca/snn/old/sept97/september/garreth.htm

http://www.focusas.com/School.html

http://www.focusas.com/Dropouts.html

http://www.dropoutprevention.org/resource/famstud/reasons.htm

http://www.dropoutprevention.org/resource/famstud/drop_indica.htm

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/dropout/index.asp

http://www.dol.gov/asp/fibre/dropout.htm

http://www.schargel.com/scg/strategies.htm

Evaluation

Presentation Rubric- evaluating student presentation

Excellent	Satisfactory	Minimal Satisfactory	Unsatisfactory
Organization Student presentation is logical, clear and fully captivates audience interest.	Organization Student presentation is logical, clear and somehow captivates audience interest	Organization Student presentation is logical and somehow clear but not captivating.	Organization Student presentation is illogical and distorted.
Subject Knowledge Student demonstrates full knowledge of subject matter and beyond	Subject Knowledge Student demonstrates knowledge of subject matter	Subject Knowledge Student demonstrates a little knowledge of subject matter subject matter	Subject Knowledge Student does not know subject matter
Accuracy No grammatical errors	Accuracy Very few grammatical errors	Accuracy Some grammatical errors	Accuracy Too many grammatical errors that distorts meaning of words

Conclusion: When you have completed this activity, you will have a greater understanding of the problems with the high drop out rate in our communities, and the difficulties of establishing a successful way to put in end to this ill. You will have demonstrated your ability to use the Internet to research topics relevant to you and society. You will have used critical thinking skills to make decisions on what policies would be most effective.

In addition, you will have received skills that coincide with the following New York State standards:

E1c: Read and comprehend informational materials.

E2a: Produce a report of information.

E3c: Prepare and deliver an individual presentation