children out of school in america - University of Tennessee Digital ...

ter the four months because the counselor had
already told her that her records weren't there.
She doesn't want to go to night school because she
needs so many more credits to graduate. Her
mother doesn't want her in night school because
it's not safe to be out,13
-John, 17, lives in Portland, Maine. He is crippled,
possibly with cerebral palsy, and may be slightly
retarded. For six years he was at Pineland, a
Maine institution that served mentally retarded
and emotionally disturbed children. Three years
after that he went to the Cerebral Palsy School in
Portland. A year ago he had an operation on his
legs to increase his mobility. The operation didn't
work and he had been bed-ridden a year at the
time of our visit. A psychiatrist declared him
educable and in need of schooling, but even after
contacting the Portland schools about a tutor, they
never sent one.
-Michael, 14, lives in the Riverton Housing Project
in Portland, Maine. He has always been sickly.
Two years ago, he had an operation in the middle
of October and because of the danger of catching
a cold, the doctor recommended he stay home and
get a home teacher. The home teacher came only
twice a week for two hours each visit. Michael's
mother was unhappy with the arrangement: "As
far as I was concerned, she was useless.... I think
she could have corne more often and done more
when she was here ... she'd hand him books ...
13 In the District of Columbia, many families told us that
any 16-year-old child who is out for a designated number
of days is automatically dropped from the rolls. This policy
can only have the effect of encouraging children to drop
out of school.
14 Problems of pregnant girls will be discussed in more detail
on pp. 68-71. A few of the programs for pregnant girls
in tbe districts we visited provided positive alternatives for
pregnant girls. For example, the Iowa State Department of
Education Division of Special Education staff, upon visiting
Green Acres School in Davenport, Iowa, commented
that "The rather comprehensive approach to meeting the
girls' needs is to be highly recommended." ("Report on
the Davenport Special Education Visitation," Division of
Special Education, Iowa Department of Education, 1972­
73.) Although none of the special programs in the districts
visited had available extensive laboratory or library facilities
which the girls might have had available to them in a
regular high school, most of the courses offered at the "regular"
high schools are duplicated for the girls at Green
Acres, and in addition, health education classes are provided.
There is a counselor assigned to the school, and attempts
are made to coordinate the school schedule with
clinic appointments. The report of the Special Education
Division stated that the creation' of this school in 1971 provided
pregnant girls, who were previously put on homebound
instruction, with more extensive academic opportunities
plus health education and socialization.
60
and say 'read' ... they'd watch TV ... sometimes
they'd go to the library ... Michael is a very
poor reader . . . he needed this kind of help . . .
he got no reading or math help from her."
Other alternative school programs raise similar
questions of adequacy. Many programs for pregnant
girls usually are poor substitutes for regular classwork.
14 Similarly, too many programs for children
with disciplinary problems are overcrowded, with
long waiting lists. 15 Some of these programs are used
15 The Director of PREP said 60 to 70 students a year are
placed on an informal waiting list. Even though PREP was
expanded in 1973-74 to accommodate twice as many students
(50-60 rather than 25-30), the demand for places has
not subsided. On the average, one child a week who is referred
cannot be accepted. (Interview with Dudley Coyne,
Director, PREP, Portland, Maine, 10/25/73.)
The Pilot School is an alternative program funded by
the Cambridge, Massachusetls school district which has
been in existence since the 1969-70 school year. In the
fall of 1973 the Acting Dean of the school said he had 95
applicants for only 60 places, and he considers their present
enrollment of J80 the maximum number they can hold.
(I nterview with Ray Shurtleff, Acting Dean, Pilot School,
Rindge Technical High School, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
10/31/73.)
16 Interview with Dudley Coyne, Director, PREP, Portland,
Maine, 10/25/73.
17 Although until the 1973-74 school year Holyoke public
school officials did not refer students to the Street Academy,
some of its funding was channeled through the public
school system. The Director of the school estimated that
since the school opened in April, 1971, il has handle approximately
100 children, only 8 of whom have graduated.
(Interview with Paula Swenson, Director, Holyoke Street
School, Holyoke, Massachusetts, 12/11/73.) A comment
about the Academy by the principal of one of the dislrict's
two public high schools gives an indication why it might
be difficult for students who have attended the Street
Academy to transfer back to a "regular" high school: "I
don't buy the Street school. For heavens sakes, they have
divans and sofas and couches and crackers on the floor.
Order is the first prerequisite for any intelligent behavior,
for any learning environment." (Interview with Edward
Moriarity, Principal, Holyoke High School, Holyoke, Massachusetts,
12/13/73.)
18 Nineteen students have graduated from Ibe Drop-In Cenler
since il opened in the 1971-72 school year, but only
three Drop-In Center students have graduated from "regular"
high schools. One of the teachers at the Center said
that schools often say to child.ren returning from the Center
"we don't want you here." Even though the schools
must formally readmit students from the Drop-In Center,
most students trying to do so know that often their reputation
will precede them and consequently they will not
remain for long at the regular school. (Interview with
Dennis Koch, Teacher-in-Charge and Sue Hartung, Teacher,
Center for Continuing Education, Drop-In Center, Davenport,
Iowa, 11/9/73.)