More than a million students give up on school every year in America. High school dropouts make one million dollars less during their lifetime than college graduates, are eight times more likely to be incarcerated, and are three times more likely to be in poor health and unemployed. With barely half of the nation's African American and Latino youth graduating from high school, the dropout crisis is also a civil rights issue that weakens our democracy and harms our economic competitiveness.
More than a million students give up on school every year in America. In Boston, the graduation rate is just 64%. Some of the district's greatest challenges include the high concentration of low-income families attending Boston Public Schools and a disparity of achievement across class and race. Of the 353 students that City Year serves at the Higginson Lewis K-8 School, 83% come from low-income families and 96% are students of color.
Corps members tutor students one-on-one, in small groups, and during whole class activities as well as lead out-of-class extension activities that complement school instruction. City Year works in partnership with Boston Public Schools to support its goals and provide the dedicated extra people required to make a difference with students who are at risk of dropping out. At the Higginson-Lewis, 10 City Year corps members serve full-time in grades 3-8.
Students who progress to 10th grade with their peers are four times more likely to graduate than students who fall behind. Our Long-Term Impact goal is to ensure 80% of the students in the schools City Year serves reach 10th grade on track and on time, serving the majority of at-risk students in the locations where City Year serves. City Year focuses that service in communities where the dropout challenge is most concentrated, ultimately serving two thirds of the nation's dropouts.
