A CRISIS IN THE NEW YORK CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM

RUTH L. STEVENS

JOHN F. KENNEDY HIGH SCHOOL

Introduction:

Although the United States of America is one of the richest nations in the developed world, we still have an alarming high dropout rate in our nation. New York State ranks 32 with a graduation rate of approximately 70%. There is a growing concern in New York City on whether the state’s higher learning standards and rigorous graduation requirements will increase the dropout rate. In New York City even though the dropout rate remains stable at range of 20%, a large percentage of graduates are taking more than four years to complete high school. Dropping out of school is not a single event in New York City; rather, it is a culmination of a series of decisions that affect academic achievement, family, economic and social factors. If we are to correct this problem in New York City, we must research the roots of the problem to determine what is causing this epidemic in our education system so that we can eradicate it once and for all.

Therefore, you are a child activist for New York City and you will research the problem of high school dropout, determine its roots and help the New York City school system come up with ways to address this dilemma.

TASK:

You will write a 4-6 page persuasive essay detailing and explaining why so many students in NYC public school drop out of the system. In your essay, you will make recommendations to the committee to change the policy to the high drop out rate in New York City high schools in your essay. You will also do an 8-10 slide PowerPoint presentation and present your findings to the committee. Your essay should include the following:

& An Introduction that clearly define and describe the dropout problems with the New York

City public schools.

& · A historical overview of the drop out problem in NYC.

& · Statistical information on the number of students that drop out of NYC public schools.

& · Reasons why so many students drop out of school.

& · Measures that have been taken to solve the problem.

& . Develop solutions/policies for the existing policies on school dropout situation and make

your recommendations to the committee

& ·      Your conclusion should include your analysis based on your research why so many students

drop out of school.

Process:

A. Use outline provided by teacher to complete a persuasive essay

B. Use the Internet to do the research using the PPA worksheets of the Tips program as a guideline.

I. Identify the problem

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet1.html

II. Gathering evidence

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet2.html

III. Identify causes of the problem

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet3.html

IV. Evaluate the policy

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet4.html

V. Develop a solution to the problem

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet5.html

VI. Selecting the best solution

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet6.html

C. Also, use the following PPA six steps outline to complete your assignment

Define the problem:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/select.html

Gather evidence:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/gather.html

Identify causes:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/identify.html

Evaluate a policy:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/existing.html

Develop solution:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/solutions.html

Select best public policy solution:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/bestsol.html

Public Policy Analyst Sites:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips.html

Resources

Introduction: http://ecommunity.uml.edu/gearup/parentfliers/dropout.html

http://www.nyssba.org/adnews/albany/albany052603-8.htm

http://www.cfequity.org/5-9-03Newsday.htm

Statistics: http://www.manhattaninstitute.org/html/cr_26.htm

http://www.saxakali.com/edwatch/racism_in_schools.htm

Causes: www.georgiafamilyconnection.org/policybp/causeshsdropout.doc

Note: Select (2) on your own from the General Search Engines below.

Recommendations: http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/indicator_briefs/dropout_rate.pdf

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/t4prod/poncewq1.html

General Search Engines:

https://www.google.com/

http://www.yahoo.com/

http://www.altavista.com/

http://www.lycos.com/

http://www.askjeeves.com/

EVALUATION:

RESEARCH PAPER RUBICS

POINT VALUE	3	2	1
Heading
Definition	Writes the problem thoroughly.	Good definition of the problem	Writes the problem poorly.
Problem	Thoroughly explains why there is a problem.	Good explanation of why there is a problem.	Poor explanation of why there is a problem.
Gathering evidence	Gathers evidence from 5 internet sites.	Gathers evidence from 3 or 4 internet sites.	Gathers evidence from 2 or less internet sites.
Explains evidence	Thoroughly explains why the evidence is related to the problem	Good explanation. Understands how most of the evidence is related to the problem.	Poor explanation. Understands why some of the evidence is related to the problem.
Identifies causes	Identifies all causes	Identifies most causes	Identifies some causes
Explains causes	Explains how each cause is related to the problem	Explains how most causes are related to the problem	Explains how some causes are related to the problem
Identifies solutions	Identifies all solutions	Identifies most solutions	Identifies some solutions
Explanation of solutions	Explains how each solution will solve the problem.	Explains how most of the solutions will solve the problem.	Explains how some of the solutions will solve the problem.
Paper	4-6 page were written. Each section was titled. There was excellent use of English	4-6 pages were written. Each section was titled. There was good use of English	Less than 4 pages were written. Sections were not titled. There was poor use of English
Questions	Writes two questions for each of the following steps in the public policy analyst format: evidence, causes, evaluation, and solution, that will help determine if students understand what is being presented.	Writes two questions for 3 of the following steps in the public policy analyst format: evidence, causes, evaluation, and solution, that will help determine if students understand what is being presented.	Writes two questions for 2 of the following steps in the public policy analyst format: evidence, causes, evaluation, and solution, that will help determine if students understand what is being presented.
Visual Aids	Imports three visual aids from the internet such as pictures, charts or graphs.	Imports two visual aids from the internet such as pictures, charts or graphs.	Imports one visual aid from the internet such as pictures, charts or graphs.

Explanation of points

A-36-34 points

B-33-30 points

C-29-26 points

ORAL PRESENTATION RUBICS

POINT VALUE	3	2	1
Heading
Problem	Thoroughly explains why there is a problem.	Good explanation of the problem.	Explains the problem poorly.
Gathering evidence	Gathers evidence from 5 internet sites	Gathers evidence from 3 or 4 internet sites	Gathers evidence from 2 or less internet sites
Explains evidence	Thoroughly explains why the evidence is related to the problem	Good explanation. Understands how most of the evidence is related to the problem.	Poor explanation. Understands why some of the evidence is related to the problem.
Identifies causes	Identifies all causes	Identifies most causes	Identifies some causes
Explains causes	Explains how each cause is related to the problem.	Explains how most causes are related to the problem.	Explains how some causes are related to the problem.
Identifies solutions	Identifies all solutions	Identifies most solutions	Identifies some solutions
Explanation of solutions	Explains how each solution will solve the problem.	Explains how most of the solutions will solve the problem.	Explains how some of the solutions will solve the problem.
Presentation Visual aids	Uses two visual aids such as pictures to help in their presentation. Asks at least two questions about the pictures or visual aids to show how they are related to the report.	Uses one visual aid such as pictures to help in their presentation. Asks at least two questions about the pictures or visual aids to show how they are related to the report.	Uses visual aids such as pictures to help in their presentation. Doesn’t ask at least two questions about the pictures or visual aids to show how they are related to the report.
Discussion of Questions related to Public Policy Steps	Discusses two questions for each of the following steps in the public policy analyst format: evidence, causes, evaluation, and solution that will help determine if students understand what is being presented.	Discusses two questions for three of the following steps in the public policy analyst format: evidence, causes, evaluation, and solution that will help determine if students understand what is being presented.	Discusses two questions for one or two of the following steps in the public policy analyst format: evidence, causes, evaluation, and solution, that will help determine if students understand what is being presented.

Explanation of points

A-30 28 points

B-27-24 points

C-23-20 points

NEW YORK STATE LEANING STANDARDS

http://www.nysatl.nysed.gov/standards.html

English Standard 1

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

As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas, discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information

Social Studies 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.

CONCLUSION

By completing this activity, you will learn how to use the Internet to gather information and do research. You will use critical thinking skills to make decisions on what policies would be most effective to address the problem of high school dropout. In addition, you will understand that you too have a voice in our democratic system.