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Durham Public Schools sees a significant decrease in school dropouts during the 2019-20 school year
Recent data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction shows the student dropout rate at Durham Public Schools has decreased to 2.26% for the 2019-20 school year.
There have been 2,947 dropouts in Durham Public Schools between the 2012-2013 School Year and the 2019-2020 School Year. Overall, dropouts in Durham Public Schools are continuing to decrease. There were 264 reported dropouts in the 2019-2020 School Year. This is down from 455 in 2018-2019, and from 472 in 2017-2018. Thus, DPS experienced a 44.6 percent decrease in dropouts from 2018-19 to 2019-20 (one year change) and a 26.4 percent decrease in dropouts from 2015-16 to 2019-20 (five-year change)
Trends by school vary, but the majority of schools have seen decreases in dropouts from 18-19.
The dropout rate has decreased not only within DPS, but also across the state. It is believed that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on this.
Also, DPS has implemented various strategies as part of Priority 2 which aims to provide a safe school environment that supports the whole child. Through this strategy, DPS is better able to identify students who are at risk of dropping out and provide them the support they need to succeed.
These practices include:
- Identifying and adopting a research-based cultural framework in every school
- Developing and utilizing a district assessment to gauge cultural framework and implementation
- Creating and implementing district-wide professional development that supports the effective implementation of cultural frameworks.
- Create and implement tiered support that provides standardized intervention strategies designed to address student’s social, emotional, and behavioral needs.
- Utilize the Student Climate Survey data to develop school-specific strategies that support the social-emotional health and safety of students and staff.
DPS is continuing to work to implement these strategic strategies as part of the Priority 2 plan to engage with students who are at risk of dropping out in an effort to continue to lower the percentage within the district and achieve student success.