At-risk students aren’t lazy; they're battling barriers

It’s easy to assume that a high school dropout chose to abandon his or her education. Nevada’s low education ranking on a national scale can also contribute to the myth that our schools are made of unmotivated, disengaged or lazy students — but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Many of the disadvantaged students we serve are facing barriers at home and in life that are inconceivable for most of us. There are various socioeconomic factors that can lead a student to drop out, and we as a community can help.

The reality of the dropout epidemic rests largely within the issue of poverty. The graduation rate for students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch is 67 percent. Students who qualify for those programs have annual household incomes between $12,000 and $77,000, and more than half of these students fall under the federal poverty guidelines. The median income of the most vulnerable families we serve in Southern Nevada is less than $12,500. With poverty comes the stress of survival, and as a result, education is no longer a top priority. In general, teachers and staff lack the resources and tools to help these students. When students lack a strong support system at school to counteract the effects of poverty, to nurture and push the importance of education, graduation rates fall.

Communities in Schools of Nevada is one of the largest state operations within a national dropout prevention organization, working to keep students in school and on the path to graduation. CIS of Nevada uses an evidence-based model, implemented by trained site coordinators, to connect students and their families to educational and community-based resources.

During the 2016-17 school year, the organization served 57,364 students in 50 schools in Clark County. CIS identifies at-risk youths and provides the resources they need to succeed in school and life, including hunger prevention, on-site resource centers, mental health counseling, health care, school supplies and a site coordinator who’s invested in their success. During the school year, 88 percent of our case-managed students graduated, and 97 percent were promoted to the next grade.

How can you help? Mark your calendar and support our many initiatives, such as Fill The Bus, our back-to-school supply drive July 27, and Today For Tomorrow, our fall benefit gala Nov. 10.

Are you a business owner? We couldn’t do what we do without partnering with local businesses to provide resources for Title 1 schools.

Interested in donating? By doing so, you are investing in the future of Nevada’s students, and the future of our state and economy.

I leave you with an idea from Harvard professor Ron Edmonds, on understanding that all students are worthy of our time and efforts, regardless of their circumstances: “We can, whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us; we already know more than we need to do that.”

Tiffany Tyler is president and CEO of Communities In Schools of Nevada.