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This paper is written to describe the results of an undergraduate thesis project which grew from an interest in the various supports teenagers in the foster care system can obtain the city of Phoenix, Arizona. Since graduation rates are quite low for this demographic on a national level, there is

This paper is written to describe the results of an undergraduate thesis project which grew from an interest in the various supports teenagers in the foster care system can obtain the city of Phoenix, Arizona. Since graduation rates are quite low for this demographic on a national level, there is a need to research what incentives and supports various high school districts in different cities and towns within Phoenix offer students within the foster care system in order to promote graduation and potentially the pursuit of higher education. Literary texts were analyzed and district and high school officials from around the Phoenix-area were interviewed. Information gathered from these correspondences was followed by contacting local colleges in order to see what those institutions provide in terms of scholarships and housing, since after age 18 these teenagers are no longer considered wards of the state and therefore "age out" of the system. The results of this endeavor are written on the following pages.
ContributorsBornhoft, Megan Ashley (Author) / Gehrke, Rebecca (Thesis director) / Harris, Pamela (Committee member) / Cocchiarella, Martha (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description

After doing projects at Maryvale High School with the director of the gifted program and her students, I was inspired to investigate if Maricopa County’s public school funding data would show a correlation between higher proportions of Hispanic/Latino students and less funding. The per-pupil expenditures were compared with the proportion

After doing projects at Maryvale High School with the director of the gifted program and her students, I was inspired to investigate if Maricopa County’s public school funding data would show a correlation between higher proportions of Hispanic/Latino students and less funding. The per-pupil expenditures were compared with the proportion of the student population that was Hispanic/Latino. I proposed that these two factors would show an inverse correlation in the public school districts of Maricopa County and in the high schools of the Phoenix Union High School District (PUHSD). This hypothesis was refuted, and no correlation was shown at the district level nor at the high school level. While there was little correlation between race/ethnicity and per-pupil expenditures, there were still huge disparities between the districts of Maricopa and among the high schools of PUHSD. These results might indicate the current state of public-school funding, but they are insufficient in describing the entirety of education in Maricopa. The lived experiences of the students I worked with indicated that they felt less privileged than their peers in both public and charter schools. Further research must be done to investigate how the inclusion of private schools, charter schools, and additional schools in Maricopa County influences these variables of race/ethnicity and per-pupil expenditures. Further research should also be done to compare different variables to race/ethnicity, such as rates of high school graduation and college acceptance.

ContributorsGalan, Adrian (Author) / Estevez, Dulce (Thesis director) / Lozano, Kenia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2023-05