Salvarys Rafael Caban, 17, grew up fast, working several jobs while a student at Brighton High School so he could help his mother, a cafeteria cashier, pay the bills.
Education quickly became an afterthought for the teen, who went to school late or not at all as he sought more hours and bigger paychecks to contribute to his family’s support. He began failing classes, and graduation seemed less and less likely.
Comments
Good report. Low wages are of course only half the story, the other half is single parent families. It's just math, you can get by on one $70k job, or 2 $25k jobs, but will struggle on one $25k job. High school age kids having children themselves? They've made success very difficult to attain.
Is this new? I had to work in junior high school and high school to pay for my school clothes. And to pay for the room and board my parents charged me while I was in high school. Doesn't seem like students working while going to school is a recent phenomenon.