Number of dropouts holds steady
March 4, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Dr. Debbie Pitman, Assistant Superintendent Student Support Services, 560-2554
DURHAM—The number of Durham Public Schools students dropping out of school held relatively steady one year after a significant plummet.
There were 444 students who were recorded as dropping out during the 2008-09 academic year. This number represents five more students dropping out than in 2007-08 (439), which was a 14 percent drop from the previous year.
The district’s dropout rate is 4.26, up only a few hundredths of a point from 4.19 in 2007-08. This places the DPS dropout rate below that of the state of North Carolina of 4.27 for the third year in a row.
The continuation of middle and high school reform efforts, along with programs that work to ensure students are engaged and learning are to be credited for the rate holding steady.
DPS’ dropout rate of 4.26 is on par with neighboring and other large, urban districts across the state. The rate of DPS students dropping out was below that of Johnston County Schools (4.58), Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (4.99), Winston-Salem/Forsyth Schools (4.76), Buncombe County Schools (4.65), Asheville City Schools (4.80) and Gaston County Schools (5.60).
DPS officials credit a number of ongoing initiatives in the successfully aggressive efforts to lower the number of dropouts, including:
- 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 funded the Evening Academy at Southern High School and the Restoration Institute for Leaders. The Evening Academy served several dozen students last year.
- A “Dropout Tracker” spreadsheet is used by school social workers who work with counselors and principals 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 sixth 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 operates six small high schools that feature individualized attention and focused instruction on specific areas.
The National Education Association Foundation recently awarded Durham Public Schools a $1.25 million grant to close the achievement gap. DPS officials anticipate that the projects developed from this grant will work to lower the dropout rate in the coming years.
“While we want all students to graduate, we know that reducing the number of dropouts is an ongoing process, especially in the face of our biggest budget challenge ever. After last year’s plummet in the number of students dropping out of school, we are pleased that those numbers held relatively steady,” said Interim Superintendent Hank Hurd. “We know that the hard work of our teachers, principals, parents and community is paying off, and we look forward to seeing more and more students choosing to stay in school and graduate.”
Data Dropout Report available at www.ncpublicschools.org
