What Policy Makers Can do to Help

To lower drop out/push out rates for Black students, public policy makers must address the problems in schools and empower families to be effective "first teachers" and advocates for students.

New policy action to lower the high drop out rate for Black students must:

• End unfair discipline practices
• Make schools welcoming to all students and parents
• Invest in parent/community empowerment
• Equitably distribute money and skilled teachers
• Raise the cultural competence of teachers
• Raise teachers' expectations of all students, and
• Update teaching practices to challenge all students, including "kinesthetic" learners who learn by doing, not just by listening and watching