By: Chris Esqueda, Sanctuary Case Manager

Over 200 students, community members, and parents came together on the California State University, Fresno, campus for the Fresno Community Graduation Summit. The event served as a forum to raise awareness of the Central Valley’s high school dropout rates, which are climbing every year. One of the goals of the Summit was to bring those affected – students and parents – together to help community leaders find solutions to this trend. Some of the solutions included adding mentors to schools, lengthening the school day to include tutoring, and finding a way to make school meaningful to students. It was a day filled with emotional stories of students who have overcome obstacles to find their way through school and have graduated.

In attendance were our own Sanctuary Case Manager Chris Esqueda and a TLC 1 resident who was stunned at the number of dropouts in Fresno County. Renno Merrill stated, “I did not know that so many kids do not realize the importance of education and how a lack of one can affect them for their lifetime.”