“According to Stearns and Glennie (2006), studies on dropout too often focus on characteristics inherent in the student without taking into account the interaction between the school structure and the student. In comparison, little discourse has been generated about the institutional practices that make it difficult for some students to graduate, such as zero tolerance policies or the wait-to-fail model often associated with special education (Boccanfuso & Kuhfeld, 2011).”

Cramer, Gonzalez & Pellegrini-Lafont, 2014, p.461

In this article, Cramer et al. (2014) discuss the common misconceptions and wrong assumptions that are often made when it comes to students dropping out of school, and the efforts that need to be made to shift our focus from blaming the students’ abilities towards the outstanding circumstances of the students’ environment that may be affecting their performance. Studies show that “students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, students from poverty, and students with disabilities” are at a higher risk of dropping out of school and being incarcerated than students who are white or come from the middle class (Cramer er al., 2014, p. 461). However, educators often wrongly equate the students’ circumstances with their ability to perform and succeed in school. We cannot blame the student–rather, it is our job as educators to assess our own teaching, and how to make the students feel welcomed, accepted, and represented in the classroom. This includes making the classroom an equal learning environment in which each student is seen as individual capable of succeeding, where every student is represented culturally, economically, etc., instruction is equal for all students, opportunities are provided to all students, and each student is socially and academically supported by their teachers and peers. When teaching, especially in an urban classroom, we as educators have to ensure that we consciously making changes “to move towards more inclusive learning opportunities” (Cramer et al., 2014, p. 472). It is our responsibility to ensure that all our students are given the resources, support, and education they need that allows them to succeed in school, graduate, and prepares them for the world outside academia.