Our nation is facing an education crisis, with high dropout rates among students living in economically disadvantaged homes. While graduation rates are slowly increasing, the enrollment rate of high school students from poor families remains significantly lower than those from middle-income homes. Everyone has the right to equal educational opportunities, but this is not the case across our country. Although there may be many reasons why a teenager drops out of school, this article will examine three main areas affected by economic decline that are inextricably linked to the likelihood of a child dropping out of school: well-being economic stability of the family unit, the financial stability of the school and the overall poverty rate of the community. In 2009, a student whose family income ranked in the bottom five nationally was five times more likely to drop out of high school without earning a diploma than a student whose family ranked in the top. 80% income bracket. (Chapman, Laird, Ifill, & KewalRamani, 2011, Table 1). A Stanford University student showed an increase in the child poverty rate between 2007 and 2012: the official poverty rate increased from 12.5 percent in 2007 to 15.0 percent in 2012, and the rate Child poverty rate increased from 18.0 percent in 2007 to 21.8 percent in 2012. Current poverty rates for the general population and for children are among the worst in 13 years since 2000 (c 'i.e. both are ranked 11th). (Paulin, age 5) A child living in a household that does not have the financial means to make ends meet will not have access to opportunities at home that require payment of funds, such as tutoring, activities extracurriculars and the ...... middle of paper ...... generally inhabited by low-income families, many of the parents themselves do not have a high school diploma. Without community support, families must either improve their locality themselves or live in the environment the locality provides. In summary, poor areas and their populations experience a higher school dropout rate, and therefore a lower graduation rate. The factors involved in a student dropping out of school or failing are numerous, but a high percentage of these dropouts can be linked to the socioeconomic level of the student's family, school district, and community in its whole. Lack of education equals lack of opportunities to advance and succeed. Therefore, a student below the poverty line does not have the same chances of overall success as an economically and financially superior student..