The first solution to a general, overarching problem with consideration to all of Syracuse would be to target city high schools, dropouts, and health education. The Syracuse school district’s four year graduation rate as of 2006 was only 47% (Gadoua). Its one thing if these students dropout, it’s another when a school kicks out students and doesn’t welcome back dropouts. Back in 2004, Fowler High School in Syracuse had 95 students supposedly drop out to pursue a GED. Out of twenty five of these students who were tracked down by Post-Standard writers, only two said they transferred into a GED program, and the majority said they never intended on going into the program. Furthermore, students from the high school, such as Carrie Williams, were told by the school to leave and attain a GED. Overall, the school kept inaccurate records on the students, and seemingly promoted students to leave school (Nolan School). It must be frustrating to attend a school to receive an education and not be wanted by the staff. This leads to the first problem of how to increase graduation rates, or at least educate the youth population on communicable diseases. Personally, I did not take high school health and learn in depth about HIV/AIDS until my junior and senior year. However, New York State Compulsory Attendance laws state students only need to attend school between ages of 6 and 16 or until tenth grade completion. With this in mind, it would appear a majority of these dropouts aren’t even attending school when they would be learning about HIV/AIDS. A new state law should be enacted to mandate critical health education during freshman and sophomore years of high school, focusing on particular STD’s and HIV/AIDS. Some parents of suburban and urban residence might argue that some of this material is to mature or inappropriate for 14 and 15 year olds. However, in Syracuse and at Fowler high school, students of this age are already fathers and mothers. Christopher Hemingway, a mislabeled GED transfer from Fowler High School, dropped out sophomore year at the age of 17 so he could work for $5.40 an hour at Eckerd pharmacy in hopes to support his child (Nolan School). It’s hard to make these students from the inner city want to attend school, but if it’s mandated that they’re educated about HIV/AIDS before they are able to dropout, this might help in self-protection from the disease. Where it stands right now, those students who dropout return to their roots in downtown Syracuse, where they live in projects such as Pioneer Homes and are involved with risky sexual and drug-related behavior. Some of these dropouts end up attending the Faith and Hope Center or the Gospel Temple Church of God in Christ, according to Robert Harrison of the Faith and Hope Center (Sieh). It is these locations which bring about the next solution.
Syracuse City Schools
Picture Taken From:
weblink.scsd.us/~test/