Although measures are constantly being taken in order to help fill in the gap between student achievement and socioeconomic status, kids are consistently falling through the system in school after school. Sociologists define social class, or socioeconomic status (SES), in terms of an individual’s income, occupation, education, and prestige in society” (Entwisle, Alexander, & Olson, 2010; Thompson & Hickey, 2008). These different factors are surprisingly closely correlated with one another. A low socioeconomic status family is typically generational. Low socioeconomic statuses are often times categorized by low income, little if any education, and a job that requires little education. Often times it may seem that parents are disengaged with …show more content…
Students’ whose family income falls short of the national average can qualify for the lunch program which often also includes breakfast for the students from elementary school through high school. Gwyne W. White et al. (2016) argued that “The percentage of students eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program is determined by federal guidelines put forth by the National School Lunch Act. Students qualify for a free lunch if their family household income is at or below 130% of the Federal income poverty line and for a reduced lunch if it is at or below 185% of the poverty line.” Almost every student involved in the Summer Scholars Institute took advantage of the free and reduced lunch program at their individual school. However, the percentages of low socioeconomic students that are a part of the lunch programs do not always gain an accurate insight into the real percentages. Often times, pride plays a part in the degradation that some people feel when having to sign up for “freebies” like this. There are so many hard-working lower social class people that refuse to sign the paperwork to get the free lunches, and that plays an important role in trying to determine exactly what percentage of your school’s population is actually below the poverty