Institutional racism is responsible for the high Hispanic dropout rate in Michigan. The term "pushout" is more appropriate than "dropout" for these students who are systematically ignored and devalued until they become alienated and leave school. Negative expectations are broadcast to Hispanic American students as soon as they…

Students drop out of school for a wide variety of reasons. Programs to discourage dropping out must therefore accommodate the actual needs of individual students rather than aim at the assumed needs of the "typical dropout." This document reviews school policies and programs that could affect dropout tendencies positively. Among these…