At Risk Students

Running Header: AT-RISK STUDENTS

At Risk

“About one in four students who enter high school will not graduate.” (O’Sullivan, Tennant, 1993). As stated by Costello (1996), there are a number of children who fall into the at-risk category, making it very hard for a school to deal with each and every individual student. But it is important to note that at-risk students do not always place themselves into this category. As stated by Chinn & Gollnick, there is a difference between at-risk students and those that have high-risk behaviors. Children who are at-risk are so because of their family, culture, mental and physical health, etc. Students who have a high-risk behavior tend to do things that put them at-risk like drugs, teen pregnancy, etc.

Many times these students are instead placed into classes that do not expect much out of them. This leaves these children not only without hopes and goals in their personal life but also with no push for excellence in school. When this happens the children slowly fall behind and deeper into their problems. As with many issues throughout the education field recognition is the first step to recovery. Recognizing the issus with segregation greatly changed education, recognition of the importance of inclusion changed it as well; recognition of problems with at-risk students could be the next hill to overcome. There may not be a cure-all for this problem, but it is something that schools can begin recognizing as a problem they need to solve. From there they have already taken a step in the right direction, leading them towards a solution; this solution will not be easy and will involve much support.

Student to Student Program

One of the biggest issues that schools deal with is money. Many time schools have to pick and choose between supplies, teachers, and programs based on the amount of money they have. As stated earlier, there are countless students who are at-risk, making it very...