Making Inroads on Dropouts

02 Feb 2010

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Claremont Cuts Rate in Half

By Bret Yager, Valley News

Claremont -- School officials credit aggressive anti-truancy efforts and new educational programs for making deep inroads into the school's dropout rate.

The Stevens High School cumulative four-year dropout rate fell to 11.6 percent in the 2008-09 year, compared with 21.9 percent a year earlier. Claremont was among 24 schools in the state to cut its rate in half, according to a state report released last week. Other Upper Valley schools kept more students in class as well.

The progress comes in response to a new state law that went into effect this school year raising the compulsory school age from 16 to 18.

“We worked all last year through the truancy officer to contact every student who had already dropped out to inform him or her about the changes in the law,” Superintendent Jacque Guillette said.

While the latest figures don't measure dropout rates for the current school year, they measure the effect of programs put in place ahead of the law. At Stevens, administrators pulled files on dropouts and those at risk of falling by the wayside and met with them last year to discuss options, Guillette said. Last spring, the School Board also approved an option where students who demonstrate they are on a path to post-graduate employment can earn a diploma with 22 credits instead of the 27 normally required. The added flexibility has been attractive to students, Principal L. Paul Couture said.

Two and a half years ago, the district hired truancy officer Terri Casey, who has worked one-on-one with students and families to resolve the issues that often lead to dropouts. In many cases students were not coming to class simply because they didn't have clothes or school supplies, said Casey, who wears two hats as the truant officer and the Families In Transition coordinator working with homeless families. Students at risk of dropping out often have communication problems with a teacher or peers or lack items like toiletries and basic school supplies.

“I'll put the parents and kids in my truck and off we'll go to the school to see if we can fix this,” said Casey, who started the Clothing Closet two years ago where students can find free attire to wear to class.

Last September, Ombudsman Educational Services, a private firm, opened a satellite office on Pleasant Street. Since then, 40 Stevens students have enrolled in online courses at the center to earn Stevens diplomas. The coursework is largely self-directed and varies depending on what students need to graduate and what their interests and learning styles are, said the Ombudsman center's director Marci Birkes.

“Some of the kids did great at Stevens, but for whatever reason -- maybe they're helping work to support their family or they have kids of their own -- they need a more flexible situation,” Birkes said. “Here, it's only a three-hour day versus a six-hour day, and the students can learn at their own pace.”

Students must also document the other 15 hours of their week to show they're using the time to hold a job, volunteer or pursue other educational work, she said.

Four years ago, the Jobs For America's Graduates program launched at Stevens and has since helped students see school as relevant, said Dori Yacono, head of JAG at Stevens. The two-year workforce readiness program for freshmen and sophomores teaches team building, leadership, career preparation and interview skills.

“It gives them direction and lets them know that if they want to be successful, they need at least a high-school diploma if not more,” Yacono said. “They need to see that. In our community, a lot of kids don't see the benefit of school.”

Overall, the dropout rate declined 30 percent in New Hampshire in the 2008-09 school year, compared with the year before. At Mascoma Valley Regional High, the four-year rate fell to 9.1 percent, from 12.2. Principal Jim Collins credits a recently restructured alternative education program. A focus over the past five years on helping freshmen adjust to high school has also helped, he said. The school has implemented a team approach to struggling freshmen and increased communication with parents and among teachers.

“We've seen less failures, less discipline problems,” Collins said. “All the statistics show if students are not successful in ninth grade, they're likely to drop out.”

The simple knowledge that those under 18 must be in school has added weight to messages, he added.

Mascoma received no state funding to accomplish its anti-dropout objectives.

However, Stevens was able to net $166,000 in competitive state grants to fund Ombudsman over two years, Guillette said.

Newport High showed a 16.3 percent cumulative dropout rate, but SAU 43 Superintendent Marilyn Brannigan said a separate draft report dated several days earlier showed an 11.4 percent rate -- which represents a modest improvement over the 2007-08 rate of 12.5 percent. Brannigan said she would try to get to the source of the discrepancy in the figures, but was not able to do so yesterday.

The state Department of Education defines the cumulative four-year dropout rate as the percentage of current students who will drop out before reaching graduation, if the annual rate does not change. In other words, a school with 600 students and a cumulative dropout rate of 10 percent would lose 60 students by the time everyone reached graduation age.

New Hampshire would like to see a zero dropouts by 2012, and Stevens officials have said they will take parents to court to enforce the new law.

“I don't believe we'll ever be at zero because life happens,” Guillette said. “I do believe it has room to go down more once the effect of all of these programs takes hold."