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You can blame it on what ever you want but the statistics remain the same. Just 54.3% of students from the  class of 2004 graduated in New York City. Where's the rest? What's going on NYC? From the 2000-2001 through the 2002-2003 school years there was a 100% increase in the dropout rates each school year. In the 2003-2004 school years the dropout rates declined from around 20% to about 16%. Of that 16 percent about 20% were Hispanic and 18% were African American, the highest ethnicity dropout percentage overall. In a report by the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, blacks and Hispanics have the worst graduation rates in the state of New York. While blacks and Hispanics have the highest dropout rates, whites and Asians comprise the least, about 10.6 and 9.5 %. So what happens when you dropout of school?
In comparison, those who graduate make twice the salary as a student who drops out. Because those who drop out are under the age of 18, they are unable to get a job in any type of career field; therefore they work at McDonalds or Duane Reade where wages are minimal. Also those who drop out have more of a chance to go to jail than those who graduate. Blacks and Hispanics are more targeted then any other race. 95% of the juvenile populations are black and Hispanic. These statistics probably do not shock anyone. If that's the case then why isn't anything being done about it?
Some of the reasons why students decide to dropout are because of money, family, pregnancy, pressure, or just plain giving up. Some lives in a low income family and must dropout because they need to help support the poor living condition they can't afford. Some must stay hom e and take care of other responsibilities such as a baby or watching over a grandmother. Because a young girl gets pregnant she have other priorities and therefore feel she must leave school to take care of their child. Others are pressured into dropping out to either hang out or getting involved in some illegal activities.
Then there are those that just plain give up, because school is too overwhelming and stressful they want to escape the detriment. They are all understandable but unjustifiable. If school can give you a higher income then why not stay in school; you'll be making twice as much as you will if you dropped out. Therefore you'll be better off taking care of your responsibilities then that minimum wage check.
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New York City Crisis Behind the dropout rate Being pressured to dropout of school isn't something you should let happen. If you look at the other dropouts they are still living in the same place with there mom doing the same things they were doing before,  where if you do graduate you would be doing better things with your life. Lastly those who just give up are headed for the worst because life doesn't get any better. Try supporting you and your family with a McDonald's paycheck. Try supporting just yourself with a McDonald's paycheck.
It is time to rise and shine, New York City. There are always other forks in the road so don't look blindly. A graduation rate of 54.3 percent isn't adequate and school is just going to get more and more difficult. Sixteen percent dropped out in the class of 2004. Imagine that percentage after the difficulties accumulate. It's time to decide whether to strive for a better lifestyle or struggle for a mediocre life.
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