Dropout rate plunges 14 percent, largest decrease in 7 years

February 5, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Dropout rate plunges 14 percent, largest decrease in 7 years

DPS is among 5 school systems with highest 3-year change in dropout count in NC

DURHAM—The number of Durham Public Schools students dropping out of school took a nosedive during the 2007-08 academic year, the system’s largest decrease in seven years.  DPS now has one of the top five three-year changes in dropout counts among 115 school systems across the state of North Carolina. 

The district’s dropout rate is once again below the average dropout rate for the state.  DPS officials credit the dramatic 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 439 students in grades 9 through 12 left Durham Public Schools before graduating in 2007-08. That number represents a decrease of 69 students, or 13.58 percent, from the previous year’s total of 508.  The dropout rate fell to 4.19, down from 4.90 in 2007-08.

This places the DPS dropout rate below that of the state of North Carolina of 4.97 for the second year in a row. 

DPS’ dropout rate of 4.19 is now below or on par with neighboring and other large, urban districts across the state.  The rate of DPS students dropping out fell below that of Orange County Schools (4.58), Johnston County Schools (4.92), Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (5.91), Winston-Salem/Forsyth Schools (5.49), Buncombe County Schools (4.53), and Gaston County Schools (5.69).  The DPS dropout rate is now merely two-hundredths of a point above that of the Wake County Public School System (4.17).

DPS officials credit a number of ongoing initiatives, plus several new ones, in the successfully aggressive efforts to lower the number of dropouts, including:

• A sharpened focus on dropout prevention. DPS continues its implementation of a comprehensive High School Completion Plan to ensure that all students complete high school. Principals, teachers, social workers, parents and community partners have made supporting students’ efforts to stay in school and graduate a top priority.
• A dropout prevention grant from the North Carolina General Assembly which funds the Evening Academy at Southern High School and the Restoration Institute for Learners.  The Evening Academy served more than 60 students last year, and provided scholarships for at least 50 students to attend the RIL program. This resulted in several dozen students having remained in school.  A second grant will expand these programs in the coming year.
• The addition of several high school social workers. Each high school now employs two full-time professionals who devote the great majority of their time to finding students who have dropped out or are truant and supporting them in returning to school.
•  A refined dropout tracking system.  DPS sends a monthly dropout report to every high school counselor and social worker, copied to the principal, listing each student who has dropped out of school. A “Dropout Tracker” spreadsheet is used to denote the efforts made with each dropout and to outline the assistance provided thus far to get the student to return to school.
• The middle and high school reform effort is now in its fifth year. Committees comprising parents, teachers and administrators continue to work on finding and implementing innovative methods for keeping students interested in school, while continuing to increase rigor for those already achieving. 
• DPS partnered with the Durham Housing Authority to host several Transition Forums in public housing communities.  They talked with students who had dropped out and their parents, grandparents or guardians about the reasons why and offered assistance in helping them come back to school.
• DPS now operates six small high schools that feature individualized attention and focused instruction on specific areas. 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.

"Durham Public Schools teachers, principals, Central Services professionals and community partners have much of which to be proud, and I thank you all.  Our dramatic decrease in students dropping out of school is directly attributable to your hard work,” said Superintendent Carl E. Harris. “We now have the data to prove that our strategies are working, but we will not stop.  We will continue to refine and build on these strategies until all of our students are staying in school and graduating.”

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Data Dropout Report available at www.ncpublicschools.org