Section 1: Academic Achievement - National Center for School ...

school year with representation at all four grade levels at any given time. I worked with a
total of 18 H&HM students throughout the year.
As I continued to learn about resiliency I came across information that addressed risk factors
correlated to dropping out. These factors included: poor attendance, repetition of one or more
grades, low self-esteem, low academic achievement, second language learner, attendance of
schools in large cities, low SES, highly mobile, friends or family members who had dropped
out, minority status, illness or disability, and pregnancy. (Office of Superintendent of Public
Instruction, Burgeson, & Heuschel, 2003). From the previous research I had learned what
areas I wanted to focus on in my classroom, but after seeing this information, I decided it
would be helpful to look at other risk factors my students might have before coming up with a
plan. There were a few of the risk factors that were easy to identify. Obviously the students I
was concentrating on already had four of the risk factors. They were highly mobile, minority,
they were second language learners, and as a result they had lower academic achievement – at
least to start.
I felt safe in eliminating the pregnancy factor since the majority of the students are 10-11
years old when they leave the building. However, I did try to keep in mind older siblings that
may have faced pregnancy at a young age. Within my group I was able to determine that all
of them qualified for free lunch and none had attended schools in large cities. Three of the 15
students had been retained at some point. All of the students had parents with a low level of
education- none with a high school diploma and most had become parents at a fairly young
age (16-23 yrs of age for the moms). There were three students in the group with an
identified learning disability, and another student who most likely has one, but this had not
been determined at the time of this report. This data was attained through the district
computer data base, information in student files, and conversations with students and the
school secretary.
After looking at this set of risk factors if became even more clear to me how important my
role as an educator who can foster resiliency really is.
Action Research to Study Homelessness and High Mobility in School Communities 82