Running head: COMMUNITY ANALYSIS PAPER: PART 3

Tiera Couch
December 12, 2014
SW 4020
Community Analysis Paper: Part 3

Running head: COMMUNITY ANALYSIS PAPER: PART 3

While the United States high school graduation rates are around
80% (Michigan high, 2014, para. 2), Detroit's public high school
graduation rate is only at 65% (Michigan high, 2014, para. 3). In
2009, the city of Detroit had two hundred and fourteen public schools
forty-nine of those schools were high schools (Schools in, 2009). The
Detroit public school system has suffered cutbacks and school closings.
There are currently only one hundred and three public schools
(Schools 2013), twenty-four of which are high schools (High
schools 2013).

Between grade school and high

school there is a difference of seventy-nine schools. Majority of those

students are not enrolled in private, charter and suburban schools.
Many at-risk students drop out of school before they even reach high
school. In order to strengthen the quality of education and create a
space where students feel confident and capable, there has to be an
aggressive program in the middle and high schools that focus on
dropout prevention and positive youth development.
In order for this program to be successful, the assessment needs
to be heard by the community, the parents, the young people, the
teachers and other school staff. The local school board, local
politicians, the professionals who grew up in similar circumstances and
the adults contributing to the detriment of the youth should also hear
this assessment. In order for change to truly reach the people, the
effort has to be reinforced in the home, in the schools as well as in the

Running head: COMMUNITY ANALYSIS PAPER: PART 3

community. The public school system often lacks resources, but where
resources are deficient the professionals and the community need to
step up and be dedicated.
There are so many barriers to completed school when living in
the inner city. One of the biggest barriers is a lack of professional role
models, this is a significant factor in a students success because adult
role models often motivate and inspire. Exposure to bad adult behavior
in the youths environment, parental and non-parental creates
dysfunction and can lead to negative outcomes for young people in
terms of education (Hurd, Zimmerman & Xue, 2009, p. 777). In order to
determine the right behavior youth often fixate on adults they want to
mimic (as cited by Hurd, Zimmerman & Xue, 2009, p. 777) and
unfortunately the people in their environment showing the most
success are often criminals. I believe that mentoring should be a big
part of the program.
Studies show that the youth who are influenced by positive role
models achieve at higher levels emotionally, academically and socially.
In order to strengthen the student's environments there need to be an
increase in social participation in the community (Netting, Kettner,
McMurtry & Thomas, 2012, p. 133). Parents are important but just as
important are other adult's in adolescents lives. Long abandoned is
the belief that the village raises the children instead of the village

Running head: COMMUNITY ANALYSIS PAPER: PART 3

adolescents are influenced by the social networking and reality

television age.
The program will offer training to educators, parents and mentors
in positive youth development and in best practices for working with
at-risk youth. One barrier to making the program work is changing
attitudes. For instance, I spoke with a friend who is a successful
pharmacist, who grew up impoverished, was educated in the Detroit
public school system and earned a full ride to the University of
Michigan. I asked him about speaking to youth and becoming a
mentor, and he believed that his monetary contributions to the
community were enough. I spoke with a few parents about getting
more involved in school activities some were enthused while others did
not have the privilege of time, and some just were not interested.
There has to be a partnership parents cannot do the work alone many
are not educated themselves and are not equipped to provide the
academic support. Educators cannot do it alone resources, and
attention is limited in the public school system.
The biggest barrier to developing this type of program is funding,
providing training on such a large scale requires resources. There are
grants available and a recent interest of outsiders wanting to revitalize
Detroit, so I believe it is a feasible project. The program should begin
as a pilot project implemented in two high schools. In order to evaluate
outcomes, participants at both schools will be compared to each other

Running head: COMMUNITY ANALYSIS PAPER: PART 3

to measure similar trends and compared to non-participants to

measure success rates. This type of programming is successful in other
areas. The Global Kids program, which helps at-risk youth succeed
academically and develop leadership skills (Mission and, 2014, para.
1) 90% of their participants graduate high school and 96% of their
participants pursue higher education (Our Impact, 2014, para. 1).
As a macro level social worker, I would first contact successful
organizations like Global kids program and propose an expansion into
Detroit or a partnership. At the least, these groups may point me in the
right direction and or provide training. I would contact the school board
and local politicians about the importance of initiating program and
talk to community members and parents. It is Important to break the
cycle of the under-educated generations, which produces the
underemployed, and that change starts with the youth. The community
wants more than just a few success stories a year, that one cousin that
went to college and moved away. Visibility is needed, and it needs to
be at home, in school and the community.

Running head: COMMUNITY ANALYSIS PAPER: PART 3

Reference
High schools. (2014). Retrieved from http://detroitk12.org/schools/by-curriculum/High/
Hurd, N. M., Zimmerman, M. A., & Xue, Y. (2009). Negative adult influences and the
protective effects of role models: A study with urban adolescents. Journal of
Youth and Adolescence, 777-89. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.wayne.edu/docview/204638012?accountid=1 4925
Michigan high school graduation rate still behind national average. (2014). Retrieved
from http://www.wxyz.com/web/wxyz/news/michigan-high-school-graduationrate-still-behind-national-average
Mission and history. (2014). Retrieved from http://globalkids.org/#/about-globalkids/mission-and-history

Running head: COMMUNITY ANALYSIS PAPER: PART 3

My community map. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.findyouthinfo.gov/maps/mapmy-community-tabular
Netting, E., Kettner, P., McMurtry S & Thomas, M. (2012). Social Work Macro Practice
(5th ed.) Allyn/Bacon
Our Impact. (2014). Retrieved from http://globalkids.org/#/our-impact
Schools. (2014). Retrieved from http://detroitk12.org/schools/all-schools/
Schools in Detroit, Michigan. (2009). Retrieved from
http://www.city-data.com/school/Detroit-Michigan.html