Community-Based Interns in Tuskegee

Stephanie Grant and I are Mathews Center interns at Auburn University and we are working with an incredible group of students at Booker T. Washington high school in Tuskegee, AL. We are addressing the issue of the drop out rate in Alabama schools in an effort to understand the problem. We are working together to raise public awareness of the factors that lead to the decision that an alarming number of students have made to drop out of school before graduating. The first time we met with the students we asked them what factors they saw as being causes of the increasing dropout rate. The most common thoughts were related to lack of support or motivation from home, friends, and teachers. Many of them felt that when students have older relatives or friends who they look up to for guidance who have dropped out, they feel that it must be a good decision since their role models have also made that choice. It is these sad truths that are motivating not only the students, but myself and my fellow interns as well to use what resources and time we have to educate as many people as possible about the dire situation that Alabama’s youth are in. After the first two meetings, the students have taken some great initiative to develop and carryout interviews with various members of their community. These interviews will be used to form the basis of our analysis into why people are lead to dropping out and, hopefully, offer some insight that we will be able to take back to the community in a forum to educate not only at-risk students, but also their families, teachers, employers, and friends. We are not trying to solve the problem in such a short time, however if raising awareness leads to just one student choosing to stay in school and graduate, our efforts will be well worth the time and dedication of these students and all those involved in this project.

- Josh Birdwell