Children are taught from a young age that they need to graduate from high school and go to college. They are told that education is the key to success in this world and that it will be much harder to get a good job without a college degree. What they are not taught is that if a person is part of a minority, their quest to further their education will become more difficult as time passes. Black and brown teenagers graduate from high school at a disproportionate rate compared to their peers. Unfortunately this number continues to increase. Instead of focusing on school work, these teens are entering the school-to-prison pipeline system. The school-to-prison pipeline is a system that involves students from low-income neighborhoods emerging into a lifestyle of continued incarceration and hardship. The education system plays an important role in this transition. Teachers and administration play a critical position in determining whether students become immersed in the school-to-prison pipeline through a lack of minority teachers, bias, and behavioral reinforcements. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The lack of minority teachers plays a critical role in students entering the school-to-prison pipeline. Currently the kindergarten through twelve education system is predominantly composed of white males and females with less than 10% teachers of color. Students learn better from teachers who look like them and receive fewer behavioral infractions. Black and other teachers of color play a significant role in the academic and social outcomes of students of color, despite research studies and recommendations to diversify teacher education. Additionally, K-12 public schools are not making much effort to recruit, hire, and retain a more diverse teaching population either. This continues the systematic school-to-prison cycle because it creates space for racism and prejudice. By attempting to hire more minority teachers and staff, students will have a better chance of succeeding after high school because they will have seen people who reflect themselves in a position other than prison. Black and brown students will also be able to gain insight from minority adults who may have been in their position as teenagers, resulting in a better understanding of how to avoid the prison-to-prison pipeline as a whole. Prejudices within the school community are widespread. important question. Educational biases can begin as early as preschool, but will become much more prevalent as we transition from middle school to high school. Students of color constantly face bias from faculty and administrators, whether intellectual or behavioral. Many teachers already have a pre-hidden stigma against Black and brown students. They are more likely to believe that a black student will not excel academically or is automatically a criminal. From personal experience during my freshman year of high school, my Afrocentric honors English teacher asked all of us, “So who is the drug dealer? I had one of the biggest drug dealers in my class when I taught at Hayward High.” Mrs. Beck automatically assumed that someone must be a drug dealer just because we were black. There were no signs among all of us that indicated drugs or anything elsecriminal behavior. Teachers also have the misconception that students of color do not have adequate supports at home like other races do. Additionally, in the same Afrocentric classroom, Ms. Beck implemented “Black Week to School” with the assistance of the school administration. This was a two-day program where students received extra credit for bringing their parents to school. Parents had to come on a day when there were only three lessons and stay the entire time. He believed that our parents were not involved in our education and that we were suffering academically. Ms. Beck and the administration made a mistake in their judgment based on skin color. They let their biases reflect our abilities before we could show them ourselves. Bias also manifests itself in students of color who go unrecognized when they suffer from disabilities such as ADHD. ADHD is a disability that affects behavior. Students with this disability suffer from hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. As stated by Moody, “These children are at greater risk of engaging in delinquent behavior during adolescence and criminal activity in adulthood, and are at greater risk of substance abuse at a young age.” Teachers do not recognize this harm as it affects a student's behavior. Additionally, ADHD is underdiagnosed throughout the Black and Latino community, which complicates teachers' actions. Furthermore, students with disabilities have a higher retention rate in the school-prison pipeline: "An average of 33-40% of students in juvenile prison were identified with a disability." Faculty and staff ignore these students' educational disadvantages instead of helping them. Alternatively, they let their biases influence a student's learning. Prejudices created inside and outside the classroom contribute to a system of harsh punishments. As a result of bias, behavioral reinforcers implemented by the administration play an important role in students' entry into the school-to-prison pipeline. The school administration has implemented zero tolerance policies. Zero tolerance policies have been developed to enforce the rules effectively and prevent further behavioral problems. As a result of this policy students are suspended or expelled for minor infractions such as noncompliance and disobedience. Teachers are now quick to send students out for irrelevant reasons, especially Black and Brown students. In an interview with Franco, a senior at Castro Valley High School, said he received a three-day suspension from art class because of the tardies. This suspension caused a downward spiral of negative effects that led to him failing the class with a D. The zero-tolerance policy negatively affects students' educational pursuits, forcing them to fall behind. When students fall behind, it becomes difficult for them to get back on track and becomes frustrating. This will result in low grades, failing grades, or immediate dropout. Additionally, the zero tolerance policy is known to be biased against students of color with suspension and expulsion rates three times higher than other races. As stated by Benjamin Justice, “[….] Combined with aggressive policing and dead-end alternatives to juvenile justice, it would pave the way for increasingly negative and disparate effects for children of color.” When Black and Brown students are suspended or expelled, it increases the possibility that said students will become victims of the prison pipeline. The school work of, 85(3), 403-424.