Chronicles of a Free Lunch Kid (Part 2)

I took the long drive to the new and wonderful Marion High School to seek out my student records.  I was able to only obtain my high school record but that's okay.  There is enough to be said about that data and even more to be said about what is behind that data.  Lets take a look at the common academic setbacks for free lunch kids according to the research.

Lower School Attendance

I missed 49 days over the course of my four years in high school.  That's not great and it's not horrible.  Most notable about that is that I missed 28 days during my sophomore year.  Two thoughts on that.  At the start of the school year we suffered a house fire.  Sure there was insurance and the house was restored but families of generational poverty to do not have the support system or the minimal financial obligation for the initial disaster.  With a disabled grandmother as a care giver my brother and I had to move us to a rental and get settled.  We had to be the men of the house and school was not a priority, surviving was.

Another note on attendance.  At 28 days in 2016, I could have been referred for truancy services.  This might entail meetings and a possible visit with the State's Attorney.  This is another at-risk label thrown upon many free lunch kids.  There are many data points that can put a kid into a system of some kind.  

Grade Failure and Dropping Out of High School

I failed a semester of Geometry my junior year.  It was not required to take so I easily slid into an early bird class and stayed on track.  I did manage to earn seven D's during my freshman and sophomore year.  The transition from junior high to high school is tough for most kids and is a significant factor in high school dropout rates.  Most of these low grades came in Math and English which are core academic areas.  Research does support this as a characteristic of a free lunch kid.  In fact I scored a 18 in English and a 19 in Math on the ACT.  Those scores are not horrible but being in the middle of the road does not usually trigger the notion that I should be in some kind of support program.  There is a reason that I rebounded well in my junior and senior years and stayed on course to graduate.  I will save that for part 3.

Behavior Problems

I never had any behavior problems or exhibit risky behaviors.  I never got swats in school because I knew what would be waiting for me when I got home.  We didn't have much but I was brought up right.  Emotional problems are another story.  The stigma you carry when you walk up to the lunch lady and have to verbalize that you are a free lunch kid is devastating.  I remember in grade school they gave us a small sheet of lunch tickets each week and we had to tear them off when we got our tray.  Most kids were paying with money and I had a little white slip.  It was easy to tell early on that you were different.  

That stigma becomes greater in junior high and high school.  The haves and have not are more noticeable and defined.  For free lunch kids this sets off a huge lack of self worth and confidence issues.  It was tough for me to really find my place socially.  I had friends and the occasional girlfriend but surprise surprise, my first couple of girlfriends were from a different town that I had met at the skating rink.  They were not from my school and did not know my standing there.  It was easy not to connect with my peers early on because I felt disenfranchised.  

In a lot of ways my youth did fit what research tells us about free lunch kids.  The summer between my sophomore and junior year would be pivotal.  The real way to reach a free lunch kid was revealed to me and I still work to reach all my free lunch kids the same way.  Maybe its not a secret to some but I know what worked for me.  In Part 3 I will offer my turn around story.