Confronting the Urban Graduation Rate Issue

Students in large cities are twice as likely to leave school before graduating than non-urban youth. According to Harvard’s Civil Rights Project, only half of our nation's minority students graduate from high school along with their peers. For many groups-Latino, black or Native American males-graduation rates are even lower. Native Americans long have had one of the highest high school dropout rates of any ethnic group in the nation. As states institute higher standards and high-stakes tests in the effort to raise student achievement, this situation is likely to worsen, particularly among minority students. Participants learned about the most promising models for helping high school students graduate with their peers.

Presider:

• Lock P. Beachum, Sr., CUBE Steering Committee member and board member, Youngstown City School District, Youngstown, OH

Presenters:

• Bradley Scott, Director, South Central Collaborative for Equity, Intercultural Development Research Association San Antonio, TX
• Sara Lewis, Board President, Memphis City Schools, Memphis, TN
• Ron Pope, Director, Student Engagement, Memphis City Public Schools, Memphis, TN
• James Bacchus, Chief Officer of School Support, Memphis City Schools, Memphis, TN
• Stephanie Gatewood, Board Member, Memphis City Public Schools, Memphis, TN