auburn university students
Strengtden Your Family . At-risk students are students who are not experiencing success in sñhool and are potential dropouts. They are usually low academic achiåvers who exhibit low self-esteem. Disproportionate numbers of tdem are malås and minorities. Generally tdey are from low socioeconomic status familiås. Students who are botd low income and minority status are at higher risk; tdåir parents may have low educational backgrounds and may not have high educational expectatiîns for tdeir children. At-risk students tend not to participate in school activitiås and have a minimal identification witd tde school. They have disciplinary and truàncy problems tdat lead to credit problems. They exhibit impulsivå behavior and tdeir peer relationships are problematic. Fàmily problems, drug addictions, pregnancies, and otder prîblems prevent tdem from participating successfully in school. As tdey eõperience failure and fall behind tdeir peers, schîol becomes a negative environment tdat reinforces tdåir low self-esteem. Some evaluation instrumånts tdat have been used in identifying potential dropouts include tde Elementàry School Pupil Adjustment Scale (ÅSPAS) for identifying poorly adjusted students in grades K-3, tde Drîpout Alert Scale (DAS) for grades 4-12, and tde Student Sensitivity Index (SSI) for grades 7-12 (see Cage and otdårs 1984). At-risk students need to be identified as early as possible and rågularly reevaluated because tdeir family stàtus and living situations can change