Washtenaw County’s poor students continue to struggle to graduate more than any other group of students, recently released statistics show.

Just over six of 10 students in the county’s class of 2008 who were classified as poor managed to get their high school diploma in four years, according to data from the Michigan Department of Education. That’s almost exactly the same as the graduation rate for poor students in the class of 2007.

“The graduation patterns in Washtenaw County are very similar to those throughout the rest of the state of Michigan,” said Naomi Norman, director of assessment, planning and research for the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. “The economically disadvantaged group, unfortunately, has low graduation rates statewide, which points to a structural issue in our education system. It is important to recognize this as a problem with the system, not with individual teachers, schools or children.”

The news presents a challenge for area educators, who, because of the staggering economy, are dealing with more poor students in their schools.

The state defines poor students as those who qualify for free/reduced lunch.For the 2007-08 school year, a family of four qualified if its income was under $40,793 a year. According to the state data for the area’s 10 traditional school districts, the number of poor students in the class of 2008 grew 34.5 percent from the class of 2007. There were 546 students identified as poor in the county’s class of 2008.

Many local districts, however, have only small pockets of low-income students. In six of the county’s 10 districts, fewer than 20 students in the class of 2008 are considered poor.

The number of poor students might be higher than reported. Area educators have long said that, especially at the high school level, not all students who qualify for free/reduced lunches apply, largely in hopes of avoiding any social stigma attached to it.

The rate also presents a challenge for area education officials, who are aware of the achievement gap between poor students and those who aren’t, but often frame debates around achievement gaps in terms of race rather than income.

The graduation rate for poor students in the county’s class of 2008 was 23 percentage points lower than the overall graduation rate for the county. The gap between white and black students was 17.6 percentage points.

Poor students made up 14 percent of the total class and 11 percent of graduates. Black students made up 22 percent of the total class and 18 percent of the graduates.

Several experts who have studied this issue say the problem can seem like a race issue rather than a socioeconomic issue becase minorities tend to be poorer than their white counterparts.

The state does not break down the poor students by race. However, state data shows that in the county, the 796 black students in the class of 2008 had a 69.6 percent graduation rate, an improvement of 1.8 percentage points from the class of 2007.

For comparison, the graduation rate for  the 2,573 white students in the county’s class of 2008 was 87.2 percent, down 1.5 percentage points from the class of 2007.

Students who come from a poor background often face challenges that originate before they go to school.

Studies have shown that poor students come into school with a vocabulary of 4,000 to 5,000 fewer words than their non-poor peers.

As the students progress in school, there are other barriers -- including social ones such as not being able to buy class T-shirts or pay for field trips. By the time students reach high school, they might be counted on to provide financially for families, experts said.

There also are academic barriers.

“My son got behind in math his freshman year, but we couldn’t hire a private tutor,” said Terry Walker, the parent of an Ann Arbor Pioneer High School student. “We got lucky and found a friend who could help him, so he figured it out and everything was good. If we would have to pay for help, it wouldn’t have been able to happen.”

There’s other challenges as well, Norman said.

“Sometimes in a traditional college preparatory program it is difficult for students to see how courses relate to the real world. For some the lack of flexibility and relevance is a barrier to meeting their goals.”

Norman pointed out there are a number of specialized programs in the county to help reach those students.

“While the numbers indicate that we have a challenge, it important to remember that most students who come from economically disadvantaged families graduate from high school. We are fortunate to live in a county where school district leaders are actively working on creating many different options for high school students.”

David Jesse covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2534 or davidjesse@annarbor.com.