Dropout rate drops again in 2006-07, now below state average

 February 7, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Dr. Debbie Pitman, Assistant Superintendent
   Student Support Services, 560-2554

Dropout rate drops again in 2006-07, now below state average

DURHAM—The number of Durham Public Schools students dropping out of school decreased slightly once again during the 2006-07 academic year.  The district’s dropout rate has fallen below the average dropout rate for the state of North Carolina.

DPS officials credit the decrease to the ongoing middle and high school reform efforts to improve instruction and better engage students in their academic performance. 

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction reports that a total of 516 students in grades 7 through 12 left Durham Public Schools before graduating in 2006-07. That number represents a decrease of 19 students, or 4 percent, from the previous year’s total of 535.  With the overall increase in student population, the dropout rate dropped to 3.44, down from 3.60 in 2005-06.

For grades 9-12 only, the number of students dropping out of school decreased from 520 to 508, with the rate of 5.15 dropping to 4.90.

The statewide dropout rate for grades 7-12 increased from 3.46 to 3.63 between the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years. The rate for grades 9-12 increased from 5.04 to 5.24.

Several large school districts reported dropout rate increases during the 2006-07 school year. They include the Wake County Public School System, whose rate increased from 2.83 to 3.07 (3.88 to 4.21 for grades 9-12 only); Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (up from 3.29 to 4.58 for grades 7-12 and 4.61 to 6.39 for grades 9-12 only); and Winston-Salem/Forsyth Schools (up from 4.02 to 4.51 in grades 7-12 and 5.74 to 6.43 for grades 9-12 only).

Last year was the fourth straight year that DPS has realized a decrease in the number of dropouts.  The preliminary unadjusted number was 631 for the 2002-03 school year, and it has decreased each year since, while the overall population of DPS has steadily increased. 

Durham Public Schools continues to aggressively tackle the dropout issue.  One method is through the provision of small high schools that provide greater individual attention and college and career preparation.  DPS looks forward to even better results in the future, as last fall the district opened three new small high schools – the Hillside New Tech High School, the Southern School of Engineering and the Durham Performance Learning Center.

Durham Public Schools recently announced a grant that will fund the opening of a small nontraditional high school, designed to help students who need a flexible schedule. It will open this spring at Southern High School, with a small cohort of 30 students.

The district also has expanded such programs as AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), which helps students focus on preparation for college, and Capturing Kids’ Hearts, which establishes stronger relationships among teachers and students.

In addition, the district recently announced that more students than ever before are taking AP courses and exams.  Particularly, there has been a steady increase in the number of minority students taking these courses and exams.

These moves are part of a four-year reform effort at the middle and high school levels that holds promise for continuing to lower the number of students who leave school before graduating.  Committees comprising parents, teachers and administrators have been meeting over the past year-and-a-half to discuss innovative methods for keeping students interested in school, while continuing to increase rigor for those already achieving.

DPS, along with community partners, continues its implementation of a comprehensive High School Completion Plan to ensure that all students complete high school.  This includes the identification of students at risk of dropping out at each school, with specific intervention strategies to keep them from doing so, along with boosting classroom resources and support, and parental and community involvement.

“While we would very much like to see a greater decrease in the number of students who are dropping out of school, we are nonetheless pleased to see a decrease, especially in light of the fact that our population is growing at a steady pace,” said Superintendent Carl E. Harris. “Our principals, teachers and Central Services professionals will continue to work closely with community support organizations to find effective ways to see that this trend continues.”

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Data Dropout Report available at www.ncpublicschools.org