The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School ... - Ignite! Learning

Notes
success, and characteristics related to school culture and structure. He also mentions some of the difficulties with
such programs, such as attracting students and school resources to support such programs.
41 Kerr & Legters, 238.
42 The numbers of students who are truant from school is often daunting. In Colorado, for example, it is estimated that
every day 70,000 students are truant from school and in Philadelphia alone there are an average of 20,000 students
truant per day. Truancy is just one area where increased parent involvement can be vitally important and productive.
After all, schools can hardly do their job if the child is not in their building. See Harmacek, Marilyn ed. (2002) Youth
Out of School: Linking Absences to Delinquency. 2nd edition. Colorado: The Colorado Foundation for Families and
Children, 2-3; and Street, John F (2001) Interview by Rocky Mountain Public Television, Corporation for Public
Broadcasting.
43 Eagle, E. (1994). Socioeconomic Status, Family Structure, and Parental Involvement: The Correlates of Achievement in
A New Generation of Evidence: The Family is Critical to Student Achievement. Edited by Henderson & Berla. Washington,
DC: Center for Law and Education, 59-60; Henderson, A. T. & N. Berla, eds. (1994) A New Generation of Evidence: The
Family is Critical to Student Achievement. Washington, DC: Center for Law and Education; U.S. Department of Education
(1994). Strong Families, Strong Schools: Building Community Partnerships for Learning. U.S. Department of Education;
Ziegler, S. (1994). The Effects of Parent Involvement on Children’s Achievement: The Significance of Home School Links
in A New Generation of Evidence: The Family is Critical to Student Achievement. Edited by A.T. Henderson & N. Berla.
Washington, DC: Center for Law and Education, 151 – 152. We note that an October 2005 study from Education Trust
found that parent involvement ranks fifth on the list of factors that help improve California students’ test scores in
lower income, minority schools. Elements that ranked ahead of that were: linking lessons to state academic standards;
ensuring that there are enough textbooks and other teaching materials; regular, careful analysis of student
performance; and placing a high priority on student achievement. The good news from this study is that it supports
the notion that students can still do well in spite of poverty and other challenges. Wherever parent involvement ranks
on the helpfulness scale, it remains one way to help increase graduation rates, but it is not the only way. It will take a
multitude of approaches to address this problem successfully.
44 Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development (1989). Turning Points: Preparing American Youth For the 21st Century.
New York: The Carnegie Corporation.
45 National Middle School Association Research Committee (2003). An Adult Advocate For Every Student in This We
Believe: Successful Schools For Young Adolescents. Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association: 16-17.
46 Alliance for Excellent Education (2004). Alliance for Excellent Education Commends NASSP Report, Breaking Ranks II,
for Its Hands on Approach. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
47 We note that there are some studies that provide support for raising maximum compulsory school age requirements.
Angrist & Kruger (1991). Does Compulsory School Attendance Affect Schooling and Earnings? Quarterly Journal
of Economics: 979-1014 (in which they suggest that roughly 25 percent of potential dropouts remain in school
because of such laws); see also Bhanpuri & Reynolds (2003). Understanding and Addressing the Issue of the High
School Dropout Age. Illinois: Learning Point Associates, 1 (in which they note that numerous states have recently
increased their maximum compulsory school attendance age).
48 Conant, James B. (1961). Slums and Suburbs: A Commentary on Schools in Metropolitan Areas. New York:
McGraw Hill.
49 Orfield, 5; see also Greene & Winters (2005), 5. One recommended method compares the number of graduates
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