According to the California State Department of Education our San Francisco public high school graduation rate currently is sitting at 92%, this looks amazing from afar. 92% of students are graduating from high school is an impressive statistic! That is until we take a deeper dive to give these numbers context. 

Students & Families facing hardships or of minority backgrounds are graduating at far lower levels than others: 

• Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students: 84.7%

• Foster Youth: 78.8%

• Homeless Youth: 78%

• Students with Disabilities: 77.4%

• Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 82.9%

• Black or African American: 80.8%

• Hispanic or Latino: 75.4%

When we shift our focus from graduation rates to dropout rates for the specific groups, we also find similarities within demographics (note: these rates are based on students that left school without a diploma, GED, or special certificate over 4 years):

• Hispanic or Latino: 13.5%

• Black or African American: 11%

• Native Hawaiian or Pacific Iaslander: 9.5%

• Students with Disabilities: 12.5%

• Homeless Youth: 11.5%

• Foster Youth: 11%

• Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Youth: 8.5%

According to the 2017-2021 U.S. Census when we take a look at the San Francisco neighborhood demographics we can see a greater problematic truth when it comes to the impact of college graduation rates and poverty within underserved communities. Although our Black or African American and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander population has significantly decreased over the past decade our Black or African American and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander population still holds a 5.5% population within San Francisco, The San Francisco Bayview holds a 27% Black or African American population. Meanwhile nearly 100% of the Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander population resides in the Bayview and/or adjacent neighborhoods. We can also see that the Bayview surrounding neighborhoods hold some of the lowest college graduation rates in San Francisco according to the same government research poll (<29%).

Poverty Rates by Race According to Tipping Point (Q1 2023 - Q4 2023):

White: 9.3% → 10.6%

Asian: 9.6% → 14.1%

Other: 8.3% → 14.9%

Black or African American: 15.8% → 22.1%

Hispanic or Latino: 20.3% → 26%

The data shows the largest spikes in wealth and health inequality specifically in our most vulnerable populations. This is why context within our data matters, especially when we are speaking on equitable solutions to socioeconomic hardships facing historically disadvantaged and disenfranchised communities.

“As people age, the evolving variation in individual health outcomes may offer additional statistical information to estimate parameters of household savings and consumption behavior that so far have proven to be somewhat elusive. Thus, incorporating health uncertainty and risk into economic models should eventually enrich our understanding of basic tenets of household behavior.” “the data cell in the first row of the first column implies that median wealth when household heads reported excellent health in 1984 was $68,300 (in 1996 dollars). Across all age groups, those in excellent health in 1984 have 74 percent more wealth than respondents in fair or poor health do. A parallel table showing income rather than wealth would display similar differentials. These differentials rival in size wealth and income differences by schooling, a subject receiving far more attention from economists. Median incomes of 1984 college graduates were $77,000 compared to $28,000 among high school dropouts--virtually the same as the income gradient from excellent to poor health.” - Healthy Bodies and Thick Wallets: The Dual Relation Between Health and Economic Status - James P. Smith

High school athletes are more likely than non-athletes to attend college and achieve college degrees. Team captains and most valuable players achieve in school at an even higher rates per the U.S. Deptartment of Education study taken in 2005. High school athletes are more likely to expect to graduate from a four-year college (73% girls, 59% boys) compared to non-athletes (67% girls, 53% boys), according to data collected for the Healthy Sport Index (Women’s Sports Foundation, 2018).

Per Youth Sports Benefits - “Project Play” by Aspen Institutepeer reviewed study “children of color show higher rates of obesity. In 2018, a study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics showed overweight and obesity rates increased in all age groups among children ages 2 to 19 (Prevalence of Obesity and Severe Obesity in U.S. Children, 1999-2016). The rates generally increased with age, with 41.5% of teens being obese by 16 to 19 years old. Of particular concern were continued racial and ethnic disparities.”