North, Mansfield score well on dropout rates
The Sun Chronicle
March 9, 2011
With high school graduation mere months away, area school officials are pushing students at risk of dropping out to stay in school and say they hope to improve graduation rates to meet state levels.
Almost 8,300 Massachusetts students did not earn their high school diplomas in the 2009-2010 school year, setting the state graduation rate at 82.1 percent and keeping the dropout rate just under 3 percent for the second year in a row.
School districts such as Taunton and Norton ranked highest in area dropout rates: 4.6 percent in Taunton and 3.6 percent in Norton.
North Attleboro and Mansfield districts had some of the lowest rates at 1.3 percent and 1.2 percent.
Attleboro Superintendent Pia Durkin said her district has reduced its dropout rate from 5 percent to 2.5 percent and increased its graduation rate over the past three years by focusing on "transition periods."
"We look at the most crucial times for students: kindergarten, grade six, and grade nine," she said. "We develop some preventative mechanisms starting in grade six where we looked at attendance patterns and behavioral issues and take steps to get those kids more engaged."
Attleboro High School has an on-campus intervention center where students serving disciplinary time participate in an alternative to out-of-school suspension. There they make up work uninterrupted by other students and receive guidance from counselors. About half of the students who spend time there do not return to the center.
"There is no one silver bullet to lowering this rate, but a combination of many factors over several years," she said. "We're making sure every kid counts. The relationships to keep kids on track take work, time and a great deal of ownership by the staff."
Attleboro High School Principal Jeff Newman said the intervention center, community mentoring program and an evening diploma program are key to making sure kids graduate on time.
Newman said the evening program, which meets from 3p.m. to 9 p.m., gave out 20 diplomas last year.
"Some students need to work during the day or they're now coming back to get their diplomas," he said of the program.
The school is also one of 14 comprehensive high schools in the state, which means that it provides career and technical training programs, including medical assisting, culinary arts and auto technician training.
State education officials and school administrators weighed in on the fiscal impact of high school dropouts during a panel discussion in Boston last week, and focused on prevention, intervention and recovery strategies to help kids graduate on time.
Legislators at the meeting hosted by the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy spoke about bills they have filed to provide additional resources to students at risk of dropping out.
"We are wasting obscene amounts of money on dropouts," Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, D-Boston, said during the meeting. "With 70 percent of the general prison population made up of high school dropouts, this is a call to action for everyone in the state."
According to a study from the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, the average high school dropout costs Massachusetts taxpayers close to $275,000 over his or her lifetime.
Mark Logan, Foxboro Regional Charter school director, said most of the students who attend his school either transferred or were kicked out of other schools because they exhibited characteristics of dropping out.
"Starting with kindergartners, I've really seen in just the last five years an increase in the number of emotional and behavioral issues," he said. "Now we look for indicators and drop out behaviors earlier. The culture of our school is such that staff and teachers are quick to notify counselors and administrators sooner."
Logan's district has the lowest dropout rate in the region at zero percent, with a graduation rate of 91.7 percent in the 2009-2010 school year.
"One thing we're seeing, though, is when the economy goes down and parents are losing their jobs, there are frustrations and stress at home that become directly translated to kids, and it can have an impact on the rest of their learning," he said.
Logan said by providing individual support and meeting with at-risk kids and their families regularly, the district is dealing with external issues that affect students' success.
Norton Superintendent Patricia Ansay said identifying students who are falling behind and establishing options like class credit recovery programs are invaluable for helping them graduate in four years.
"One of the most powerful things we do to keep kids in school is to have a buffet of activities, clubs, and courses that are a 'hook' for that one student who is on the borderline of dropping out," she said. "By participating in the 'life of the school,' they feel that they are part of something, and this often leads to success."