Despite rising class sizes and shrinking staff numbers at money-strapped school districts throughout the state, the dropout rate for students in Oregon during the 2002-2003 school year hit a low of 4.4 percent, down from 4.9 percent in the 2001-2002 school year, the state Department of Education reported Tuesday.

Although the percentage of students who drop out of Central Oregon school districts remains relatively low, many local high schools saw an increase in their own dropout rates during the same time period. Crook County High School’s dropout rate jumped to 6.6 percent from 5.2 percent the previous year. Redmond High School rose to 2.2 percent from 1.5 percent.

Some schools, such as Madras and Bend high schools, saw their dropout rates decline while overall the Bend-La Pine School District stayed steady at 3.8 percent.

Both a state Department of Education official and many local administrators pointed to alternative education programs as part of the reason students are staying in school. The economy is also a factor, said Gene Evans, the Department of Education spokes-man.

Even if students dislike school, many realize that the outside world doesn’t offer them a way to make money right now, he said.

”There just aren’t any jobs for these kids to get,” he said. ”We know the dropout rate will increase when the economy gets better.”

According to an education department Tuesday news release: ”Oregon state law defines a dropout as a student in grades 9-12 who withdraws from school without receiving a high school diploma, GED certificate, modified diploma, or transferring to another school.”

A dropout rate is the percentage of students who dropped out that year, Evans said.

Some school districts outside of Central Oregon have a significantly higher dropout rate, including the Portland School District, which dipped to 9.8 percent in 2002-2003 from 10.1 percent in 2001-2002.

Another form of measurement known as a graduation rate measures the percentage of students who graduated in four years with a regular diploma. That does not include students who receive a GED or transfer to another school.

Sisters High School had the highest graduation rate in Central Oregon for the 2002-2003 school year – 96.6 percent.

”We just don’t lose track of kids and we put a lot of effort into recognizing kids as individuals and trying to meet their desires,” said Lynn Baker, the superintendent of the Sisters School District. The high school also uses a mentoring program that links older students with younger ones.

Sisters is one of the smaller high schools in the area with a student body of about 465 students, excluding its alternative education program.

In the Bend-La Pine School District officials are working to create what’s called ”schools within schools” at high schools. The small schools initiative is just one way the district is trying to increase personal contact with students, said Bob Olsen, coordinator of assessment and research for the district.

In prior research, Olsen said he found ”the single most factor in kids deciding to leave school was that they no longer felt connected to the school.”

The Crook County School District has worked to keep kids interested by switching to a trimester schedule, which offers kids more opportunities to take more classes they might like, said Rick Knode, principal of Crook County High School.

If a student fails a class, the school has an on-site remedial program they can take to get the credit in that class, he said.

Like many schools, Madras High School has worked to decrease student dropouts, said Keith Johnson, the assistant superintendent of the Jefferson County School District. At Madras High the dropout rate was at 3.4 percent in the 2002-2003 school year, down from 3.8 percent in 2001-2002.

”I know last year was one of our best years in maybe a decade in the percent and numbers (who graduated),” he said.

Some alternative education options the district has created include course offerings for students who don’t speak English as their native language.

”We tried to create some alternatives to look at where they’re coming from and where their talents are from … and still giving them solid content but in a different venue,” Johnson said.

Students who don’t accrue the appropriate number of credits from year to year are often the ones who drop out, said Dan Purple, the principal of Redmond High School. When students realize they won’t graduate with their class on time, they may drop out.

”Dropping out is not an event, it’s a process,” Purple said. ”And it usually starts in the third grade when they can’t read at grade level.”

At 89.6 percent, Redmond High’s graduation rate is solid, he said, though it could get better.

”We’ll keep trying to graduate everybody,” he said. ”We won’t be satisfied until we reach that.”

Julia Lyon can be reached at 541-617-7831 or at jlyon@bendbulletin.com.