Over his or her lifetime, a high school drop-out earns $260,000 less than a high school graduate and $ 1 million less than a college graduate. Moreover, seventy-five percent of state prison inmates did not complete high school. Drop outs adversely impact the U.S. economy as well as undermine the social fabric of America. Minorities disproportionately comprise the majority of high school drop outs. This is of particular concern to me as over 74% of my constituents are minorities. Research shows that both academic as well as socio-economic factors influence a student’s decision to dropout of high school.
As the daughter of Jamaican immigrants and as a graduate of New York City Public Schools, it has been my experience that in many instances schools are not sensitive to the cultural differences of immigrants. As a result, both immigrant students and parents are alienated from the schools. This bridge between schools and immigrant parents must be closed if we are going to lower the high drop rate among immigrant students.
