Students at Risk

4.1 What are the characteristics of students at risk?

• Students at risk encounter social, academic, and emotional problems. Some background factors include low-SES/poverty/homelessness, divorced/single-parent families, inner city, minority, non-native English speaker, drug and alcohol abuse at home, high neighborhood crime rates. Some educational factors include high dropout rates, low grades, grade retention, low achievement, participation, and motivation, poor attendance, misbehavior in class, low self-esteem, lack of interest, and high suspension rates.

4.2 What unique challenges do urban schools present to students at risk?

• Urban schools are often bigger, more crowded, and more impersonal. Urban areas have lower incomes and lower residential property values, meaning less funding for resources and extracurricular activities and larger classroom sizes. Higher diversity, longer travel distance, and teachers from different neighborhoods make it difficult for teachers to connect with their students. Fewer experienced teachers work in urban areas because they are viewed as challenging and have fewer rewards, so the children who need these experienced professionals the most don't have access to them. Urban schools also have high concentrations of students in poverty, the effects of which have been covered in previous sections.

4.3 What can schools and teachers do to help students at risk achieve success?

• Teachers can set clear, high expectations for their students coupled with clear messages about the need for student effort and responsibility. Teachers should let their students know that they care about them as individuals and also care about their academic success. They must also systematically apply effective strategies that work for all their students and allows them to take control of their own learning.
• Schools must focus as a whole on personal responsibility, cooperation, and mutual respect between teachers and students. Schools should maintain safe and orderly environments, a sense of community, and pro-social values. They should strongly encourage parental involvement and employ caring and demanding teachers with high expectations for all their students.