Annual dropout rate down statewide, in Central Oregon

Published 5:00 am Thursday, October 5, 2006

Fewer Oregon students dropped out of high school in 2004-05, and many Central Oregon schools reflected that trend, according to state data released Wednesday.

The statewide dropout rate went down to 4.2 percent for the 2004-05 school year, from 4.6 percent in 2003-04. Bend-La Pine high schools saw a more significant downturn: The dropout rate decreased to 2.6 percent during that time period.

The Oregon Department of Education defines a dropout as a student between ninth and 12th grade who withdraws from school without transferring to another school or receiving a high school diploma, General Education Development certificate or modified diploma.

The drop is likely due to increased individual attention from teachers and administrators, which is an indirect result of federal legislation, said Gene Evans, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Education.

The No Child Left Behind Act forces schools to pay attention to student subgroups that may be at risk, he said.

And while the Adequate Yearly Progress reports do not measure dropout rates, they do measure graduation rates.

”I think this is one of those things where No Child Left Behind and the focus on every student has really helped,” he said.

Dropout rates will not count against schools in the state report card, which will be issued next week, Evans said.

The dropout rates, usually released earlier, were delayed because of changes in how dropout data is tracked. The state wanted to get a clearer sense of where students were landing, Evans said.

Schools and districts were required this year to submit a list with student identification numbers, which are issued to students when they enter the public school system. The numbers allow the state to track students throughout the system to see if they end up at another school. That way, the department can more accurately determine whether the student has transferred or withdrawn, Evans said.

In Bend-La Pine, dropout rates went down from 4.3 percent in 2003-04 to 2.6 percent in 2004-05. In 1999-2000, the rate was 7.6 percent. In student numbers, the recent data translates to 119 dropouts in 2004-05, down from from 194 in 2003-04, said Deputy Superintendent Ron Wilkinson.

Educational programs offered through the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, a coalition of regional governments, and other alternative school options have helped. So has more individualized attention from teachers, said Bend-La Pine Superintendent Doug Nelson.

”It’s a variety of things, but I think the basic thing comes down to having teachers there to care for them,” he said.

At La Pine High School, there was only one dropout for the 2004-05 school year, compared with 32 in 2003-04. That’s a decline from 6.1 percent to 0.2 percent.

The school has implemented several programs to target at-risk students, said Principal Charlie Beck.

The high school added a student dean position two years ago and hired a second counselor.

”We decided to look at the dean and counselor in a more proactive way,” he said.

Declining grades or increased absences are two indicators counselors can use to sit down with a student and problem-solve, he said.

Students can also choose to attend an in-house alternative school nearby or participate in COIC or another alternative program called Second Chance, he said.

And last year, the school opened an on-campus health clinic that operates in partnership with the Deschutes County Health Department. The clinic, which operates on a sliding scale, attracts students who might avoid school for health reasons.

At Marshall High School, an alternative high school in Bend, the dropout rate plummeted from 17.7 percent to 5.3 percent in one year. The school had 44 students drop out in 2003-04, compared with 27 in 2004-05.

”One of the strategies that we’ve focused on over the past couple of years is to try to find a school placement for a student if it looks like our school isn’t working,” said Principal Dave Holmberg. ”We try to intervene and help find a new direction for that student that involves another school program of some kind.”

Mountain View High School is the only Bend-La Pine school to see an increase, albeit a slight one. The rate spiked from 1.6 percent to 2.6 percent.

”Mountain View has a pretty low dropout rate,” said Principal Bob Jones. He was unsure why the increase occurred.

”We do everything we can to encourage students to stay in school,” he said. ”We would want to wait and see which way the trend line continues after this year.”

Redmond High School’s dropout rate was slightly higher than the state average, at 4.4 percent. The rate is up by 1.9 percent from the previous year.

A new alternative school, Pioneer Secondary School, and increased communication between teachers, students and parents have contributed to a plunge in Crook County’s dropout rate. The rate decreased from 9.1 percent in 2003-04 to 5.2 percent in 2004-05.

”It was a concerted effort to communicate, to let kids know, Yes, we care about what they’re doing,’” said Crook County School Superintendent Steve Swisher.

The rate translates into each graduating class’ losing 20 percent of its students between eighth and 12th grades, Curriculum Director Keith Hanson said in a news release.

”This figure is unacceptable, and we must continue to find ways to keep every one of these students on a path to graduation,” Hanson said in the news release.

Since 2005, the district has taken a variety of initiatives to decrease students’ likelihood of dropping out of school. Those include creating alternative learning options, creating regional partnerships with local schools to provide more educational opportunities, and reinstituting the Teen Pregnancy Program, which helps young mothers re-enter school.