The Freedom Writers Institute For Teachers addresses the need to decrease the high school dropout rate for at-risk and disadvantaged students by providing educators with tools to do so.

An estimated 2.5 million public high school students drop out every year in America. It is the mission of the Freedom Writers Foundation to answer this cry for help in schools by training teachers to engage students and keep them engaged.  

A policy brief from The Alliance for Excellent Education illustrates that two of the many factors that contribute to the education gap between white and minority students in the U.S. are lack of resources and fewer qualified teachers. While 70 percent of all American high school students graduate in the expected four years, the figures are much less optimistic for minority populations. Only 52 percent of Latino, 56 percent of African-American, and 57 percent of Native-American students graduate on time, compared to 78 percent of white students (Greene & Winters, 2002, 2005). With the nation’s minority populations becoming larger as a percentage of the population, if multi-ethnic students’ graduation rates remain the same, the national graduation rate will soon begin to fall as a growing number of minority students are left behind. The Freedom Writers Foundation views training for educators as a significant means to increase the percentage of minority students who receive a high school diploma and become economically viable citizens filled with awareness of their role as a catalyst for change. The economic health of future households begins with a quality education.