Area grad rates top U.S. average
Judging from the statistics, schools in the Pikes Peak area have a better graduation rate compared with the rest of the country. Only three school districts fell below the 73.4 percent national average and the 75 percent state average for 2007 graduation rates: Harrison District 2 at 69.8 percent; Colorado Springs District 11, 67.5 percent, and Edison District 54JT, 62.5 percent.
And even those numbers might not be as bad as they seem. Some educators say a method of tracking graduation rates instituted in Colorado last year lowered the numbers overall and especially hurt the smaller districts.
Edison Superintendent David Grosche, for example, said the graduation rate at his school was 83 percent last year. He contends the method of determining graduating rates doesn't adequately account for students who leave for other school districts after ninth grade, the baseline for calculating the size of a graduating class four years later. If a student's new school doesn't ask Edison for his transcripts, the student will be considered a dropout and drag down the district's graduation rate.
Peter Fritz, a senior consultant with the Colorado Department of Education, acknowledged that in districts with a small numbers of students, one or two student "dropouts" can have a huge effect on graduation rates.
"A school has to have official documentation of what happened to the student. If they don't have it, the student is reported as a dropout."
A new law that goes into effect this year will affect the statistics even more. Starting with 2008 graduates, the state will count only those students who graduate in four years or less, a measure instituted by the Legislature in part to increase accountability.
Regardless of which methods are used and which figures are correct, most educators would say that anything less than a 100 percent graduation rate is a problem in need of a solution. Anational report by the Education Trust issued last week showed that one in four kids is dropping out of school. The United State is the only industrialized country where young people are less likely than their parents to earn a diploma, the report said.
The rates are particularly dismal for minority students: One in three drops out of school.
"We have major work ahead, particularly in closing the large gaps that exist based on race and income," Colorado Education Commissioner Dwight Jones said this year.
Tuesday, U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings issued rules mandating that schools and states must track and lift the graduation rates for all students, including minorities and students with disabilities. The federal government cannot force states to set more ambitious goals. But it can make states uncomfortable by holding schools accountable - publicly - for failing to graduate more students.
The new rules do two things to shine the spotlight on school dropouts:
• States must track dropouts, along with graduates and transfers, using the same reporting system. They use a hodgepodge of methods that make it hard to compare states, and the National Governors Association has recommended a uniform tracking system. It is unclear how that will affect Colorado's system.
• Starting with the 2012 school year, schools must meet improved graduation rate targets for minority groups and kids with disabilities, as well as for the overall student population, to satisfy the yearly progress requirements of No Child Left Behind. Schools that don't meet yearly goals for every group of students face consequences, such as having to pay for tutoring or replace principals.
Schools will be judged on whether children finish high school with a regular diploma in four years. The secretary of education will consider exceptions for kids who take five or six years to graduate, such as students who are learning English or those with disabilities.
But Spellings wants the pressure on schools to graduate students in four years.
Locally, several districts are pursuing solutions for keeping kids in school.
"We are working hard to increase our graduation rates, especially among African-American and Hispanic students," says Mary Thurman, a deputy superintendant at D-11, where about 50 percent of students receive free and reduced lunches.
There are many reasons minority students fail to graduate, she says. They may not have mentors; they fall behind and aren't getting the information to get up speed; they may have a different learning style that isn't addressed; they may need more tutoring. The district has made progress using several drop-out prevention programs and counselors who connect with struggling students.
Ultimately, the buck stops with teachers and curriculum, says La Vonne Neal, dean of the College of Education at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, who teaches teachers to teach. "Our responsibility is to prepare teachers to teach all children, and the challenge we are experiencing is: Why are children of color dropping out? Why are others dropping out?"
One way to increase minority graduation rates, she believes, is to tailor teaching methods to the way children learn - say, through symbolism and visual stimulation. Another is to provide more role models.
"If you see and only hear about only white mathematicians, and white astronauts, then as a student what would you think? Only whites are mathematicians. Only whites are astronauts."
Even districts with high graduation rates are not resting on their laurels. Many districts would love to have the approximately 94 percent graduation rate of Lewis-Palmer School District 38 in affluent northern El Paso County. But John Borman, principal at Lewis-Palmer High School, is not satisfied.
"That still means 6 percent aren't graduating," he said.
One of the most important aspects of keeping kids in school is keeping them connected to it. He notes that 80 percent of his students participate in school activities.
"When they feel like they belong, they tend to graduate," he said.
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Contact the writer: 636-0371 or carol.mcgraw@gazette.com
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
