What’s an Abandoned Factory?

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An Abandoned Factory is a high school where 60% or fewer of students who enter the school as freshmen graduate. Such schools are often used to illustrate the inequality in education systems, as they are often concentrated in low-income and underprivileged neighborhoods. In the United States, about one in 10 schools is considered a deserted factory by the Department of Education, despite attempts to equalize the American education system.

There are a number of reasons why a school becomes an abandoned factory. For example, some students actually transfer, rather than drop out, but it can be difficult to track students across multiple schools and districts, so they are often included in dropout statistics. In other cases, students actually drop out, or fail to get the grades needed to graduate and decide not to pursue remedial education.

Schools are at a greater risk of becoming abandoned factories when they have limited funds, making it difficult to maintain high-quality academic programs and teachers. Schools with students from families with limited educational attainment can also become dropout factories, because parents may not value education or push their students to finish high school. Students may also face issues such as parents with substance addictions, gang wars, needing to care for younger siblings, or having to work to support their families.

Even schools identified as low-performing schools or dropout families can, paradoxically, be penalized for failing to educate their students. Rather than acknowledging that an abandoned factory needs support and assistance, the government can withdraw funding or other forms of assistance as a sanction, even if it is the students who suffer from policies like this.

In low-income neighborhoods, students sometimes have multiple schools to choose from, but all of these schools can be relatively underperforming, because they all suffer from the same funding difficulties and social problems. This can be frustrating for students having trouble in an abandoned factory and attempting to transfer to another school to improve their chances of getting an education; when they encounter the same problems at their new school, they may just give up, rather than attempt to move out of the district.

The problem of factory abandonment can be tackled in different ways. It is important to increase government funding and support for schools, as well as promoting education in underprivileged communities. Outreach programs for at-risk youth can also contribute to an increase in the education completion rate, showing students their potential and encouraging them to pursue a professional career.

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