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By Root 1312 0

Richmond High’s appeal because in this district, going to a neighborhood school was uniformly seen as less desirable than attending a magnet high school, the latter having a reputation for academic quality. Other factors added to Lower Richmond’s image as a last resort. Oversight appeared to be lax. Many students reported that instead of attending classes, they routinely remained in the cafeteria for the entire day. The district reported the graduation rate based on the proportion of students who began their senior year and graduated in June (70 percent).22 (This rate was lower for white males than for African American males.) This figure, of course, did not include the students who dropped out or left to get a GED before their senior year. Some estimate that the overall four-year graduation rate was around 55 percent at that time. Lower Richmond offered a much more basic and slow-moving level of curriculum than that found in the suburban high schools the middle-class adolescents attended. Only about one-quarter of students were found to be advanced or proficient on the state reading and math curriculum. There were no AP (advanced placement) courses, and SAT preparation was not offered in the district. Districtwide SAT scores averaged a combined total of 756 [1134]. There was one guidance counselor per 430 students.23 Although teaching at Lower Richmond and other city schools was widely seen as more challenging than at suburban high schools, average faculty salaries were about 10 percent lower than in suburban districts such as Swan. Per pupil expenditure was about 70 percent of expenditures at Swan and other nearby suburban school districts. In the course of my follow-up research, I learned that the school offered a program to help students with college applications. None of the families mentioned this service during the follow-up interviews.

The middle-class youth attended four different high schools, and all four were different from Lower Richmond. At the time the youth were attending, these schools appeared to offer a fast-paced, challenging curriculum. For example, the schools emphasized the development of writing skills, they offered a large array of AP courses, and they provided college preparation services unavailable at Lower Richmond. At Swan High School, which Melanie attended, SAT preparation was offered as an elective class. Average class size in Swan high school was about half that in the Lower Richmond District. The passage rate on state proficiency tests was over twice the rate at Lower Richmond. Average Swan SAT scores were 1065 [1598]. Swan’s ratio of 250 students to 1 counselor was approximately one-half that at Lower Richmond. Some of the suburban high schools also offered an International Baccalaureate Program, which is a rigorous, selective high school curriculum. The school Garrett attended had very high test scores that consistently put it among the state’s top ten high schools. Garrett’s school and the one Stacey attended were selected for accolades by U.S. News and World Report in the magazine’s ranking of America’s best high schools. Alexander went to a small, elite private high school with a reputation as one of the best private high schools in the area. These schools all had dropout rates under 7 percent and college-going rates over 90 percent. All three of the public high schools also had active parent volunteer programs and educational foundations that annually raised thousands of dollars for school equipment, teacher grants, and college scholarships. The suburban high schools also appeared to bestow many awards. Thus, there are many signs that the middle-class students attended high schools that differed significantly from Lower Richmond in terms of funding, facilities, curriculum, college preparation, and overall reputation.

Networks, Work, and Resources

As the youth transitioned to adulthood, nearly all sought to enter the labor market, either by being hired for paid employment or by securing an internship in a work setting. Their parents used their own social networks to help the kids