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

-Marriage does not exclude a child, but usually the
girls drop out. "Married students are exempt from
compulsory attendance laws."eT
These students need to complete their education
as much as other students. If they are forced out,
the consequences to themselves and their children
-two generations of children ill-equipped for full
participation in society-are a tremendous cost to
bear. School officials, teachers and counselors
should re-evaluate their attitudes and practices in
rational, educational terms and develop the options
necessary to enable these children to remain in
regular school if they choose and, in any case, to
finish their education.
Married students, pregnant girls, and school-age
parents may have some special needs. But rather
than using those needs as an excuse for exclusion,
schools should instead see them as guides for responsive
and sensitive supplemental services. Where
possible, and within the regular classroom framework,
flexible scheduling should be offered to enable
these children to adjust to their new roles while
continuing their education. Schools should also prpvide
counseling, prenatal medical care and courses in
child development for pregnant girls. But these supportive
services should supplement, not replace, other
academic instruction. Academically sound alternative
programs should be provided for pregnant
girls who do not choose to remain in regular classes.
Young mothers should also be encouraged by every
means possible to return to school after their children
are born.
For parents and children who are facing exclusion
from school because of pregnancy or marriage, at
least three sources of help may be available: The
Consortium on Early Childbearing and Child Rearing,
1145 19th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.; The
National Alliance Concerned with School-Age Parrents;
and the Interagency Task Force Concerned
with Comprehensive Programs for School-Age Parents,
U.S. Office of Education, Washington, D.C.
They can make available additional information on
state and local support programs.
Children Excluded by Language
-18-year-old Gilbert is Portuguese. He dropped
out of a New Bedford, Massachusetts school in
fifth grade when he was 16. He had come to
America at age 9 but did not start school until he
was 14. 0 one from school ever came to get
him enrolled.
-Fernando is now 19. He came to Springfield,
Massachusetts from Puerto Rico when he was IS.
He could not read or write in Spanish as he had
never been to school in Puerto Rico. He was put
in the fifth grade. He got no bilingual instruction,
so he stayed home because he could not understand
what was going on. A truant officer came
to get him and told him that if he did not go to
school and did not want to be put away, he would
have to go back to Puerto Rico and stay with his
father there. He did. He returned to America
when he was 18. Fernando said that he did not
like school because he "did not know how to read
or write or understand what was happening and
they wanted me to read and write." His mother
used to send him, but he did not want to go-he
used to stay at home.
-A Springfield, Massachusetts school official explaining
why their dropout rate is higher than ever
said: "the clientele is changing.... The population
of Puerto Ricans in our town has been going
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