The young lady sat in our office, sharing a version of a story we\u2019ve heard repeatedly. School had never come easy for the kind, young woman with the wry smile. With intensive academic and social-emotional support, she had graduated from high school and enrolled at a two-year school in the City University of New York system. But navigating the system was overwhelming, and she soon stopped attending. She was now working 10- to 12-hour days, off the books, at a deli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bianca, whose name, like those of the other students discussed here, has been changed to preserve her privacy, was in the fifth graduating class at Math, Engineering and Science Academy (MESA) Charter High School, and we are proud of the opportunities our school has created for her and her peers. In a district where the high school graduation rate has averaged just over 70 percent for the past four years<\/a>, MESA has graduated 93 percent of its students<\/a> on time. There\u2019s no magic bullet to these results, just sweat equity. Students get highly targeted instruction, frequent communication with parents and a loving, positive environment where they can thrive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. <\/em>Sign up for The 74 Newsletter<\/strong><\/a><\/p> But once they leave what we call MESA\u2019s \u201clove bubble,\u201d they graduate onto a razor\u2019s edge. The slightest setback \u2014 a cut in a parent\u2019s wages that impacts their ability to pay for college, a bureaucratic slip-up at a university, a missed payment deadline \u2014 can lead to disaster. A report published earlier this year by the New York City mayor\u2019s office found that nearly a quarter of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 are both out of school and unemployed<\/a>. Nearly 80 percent are youth of color, like our students. For many of them, the future can seem over before it has begun. Disconnected youth earn $31,000 per year less than their peers<\/a> upon reaching adulthood and are 52 percent less likely to report being in good or excellent health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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