On the front page of today's Fargo Forum is a graph representing the number of kids dropping out of school in the state of North Dakota. In 2005, the drop out number was a total of 647. Two years later in 2007, the number of drop outs skyrocketed to 794 and stayed pretty steady at 791 in 2008. That means about 150 more kids opted to drop out between 2005 to 2007. According to Education Week, the projected amount of drop outs could reach 1,777 students in the class of 2009.
Compared to some states across the nation, North Dakota's drop out numbers are actually quite low. For instance, Education Week also projected that nearly 14,000 Minnesota students from the class of 2009 have dropped out of school. Nationwide the number stretched to 1.3 million dropouts. WOW! 1.3 MILLION? Why? According to the National Dropout Prevention Center some risk factors include:
- Learning disability
- Has high-risk friends
- Low achievement
- Held back from grade
- Poor attendance
- No extracurricular participation
- Low socioeconomic status
- Sibling dropped out
- Not living with both natural parents
But what about starting programs sooner...like at elementary levels? Why wait till senior high to encourage students to stay in school? Several elementary schools throughout the Fargo area are doing just that. Low attendance is one factor and one of the first signs that students could be headed to dropping out. Jefferson Elementary provides incentives to parents to get their child(ren) to school. And this year, to keep kids involved in school, the staff started offering after school intramurals. These after school activities include chess, soccer, basketball, anything and everything.
At Kennedy Elementary there is a monthly meeting called "The Morning Meeting Plus." The hopes of retaining students is encouraged through meetings with a dozen students per grade from kindergarten through fourth grade and one staff member. This meeting concentrates on character-building activities and by building community awareness.
Drop out prevention goes beyond the classrooms. Community involvement is also needed. Parents can get involved with mentoring programs or act as parent liaison at the schools. To involve the community within the Fargo area, United Way of Cass Clay is hosting a discussion this Wednesday with about 300 leaders regarding how to improve local school districts' graduation rates. "There's greater recognition," said Fargo Public School drop out prevention coordinator Bev Dillion. "We all need to play a part."
I think it is great that West Fargo started the Senior High Alterative Center and that a few of the elementary schools are developing programs to help keep students in school. However, I think that the SHAC may be a little late. I've heard that there are statistics showing that students decided by the 6th grade if they will drop out or not. What is the dropout age in North Dakota? In Illinois, a student has to be 16 before he or she can drop out of school. Typically that is sophomore or juniors in high school. If that is the case, seniors in high school have already decided to stay in school. Doesn't it seem redunant to target those who are staying in school? Or are these students at a "high risk?"
ReplyDeleteI hope that more elementary schools across the country will follow the example of the elementary schools in West Fargo to try and get their students to remain in school.
Great article!
Kimberly
Denise-I really liked your topic. I was very surprised to hear about the numbers of dropouts and the rate they are increasing. It’s a very sad statistic. It’s good to see that some schools are trying to change this trend but I question if it is enough. I agree with you things should be done before high school because for many that is too late.
ReplyDeleteI think it is so important that students have extracurricular activities to be involved in. Some students may not be able to do things before or after school so I hope some schools are offering activities during the day (lunch hour for example). I do think schools have to remember to offer a variety of extracurricular activities to fit a variety of interests. Your examples listed were big schools who have more funds, staff and resources for such programs but I’m worried some school districts are not able to do this. North Dakota has a large number of smaller schools that can easily add to the drop out numbers and may not have to ability to do so many extracurriculars.
I think the first step school districts should be doing is educating parents. I’m sure parents like myself had no idea that dropping out has become more common. I think if parents were informed of this and the warning signs early on they could help fight the increasing rate of drop outs. They could do this by handouts, special newsletters, speakers, etc.
Great blog and thanks for bringing such a problem to my attention.
This is a hot topic in Georgia as well, especially in the bottom half of the state where farming is still prodominant. Our dropout rate increases yearly and I feel that too little is being done to stop it. Three years ago, graduation coaches were placed in both the middle schools and the high schools. At risk students are sent to these coaches but the method they are choosing to use does not seem affective. One of the biggest reasons female students drop out of school is because of teenage pregnancy. High schools lose more and more girls each year to pregnancies. I feel that programs like the Senior High Alternative Center would greatly benefit my area. I also feel that sex education would greatly benefit my students, but we are limited to the information we can show and the precautions we can give. Great topic choice!
ReplyDeleteThe state of Georgia's graduation rate is about 74%, which is one of the lowest in the nation. It is extremely saddening to see such uninterested and disheartened children never finish school. They have so many motivations to do other things and even make more money outside of school than to stay in. They see their deadbeat parents making money from the government that they see no need to be truly successful. The role models in their lives, are not really role models, just people who tell them it's okay to be who they are, even if it is not ethical, moral, or legal. We have to start hitting home harder and showing the students who are dropping out, which are at-risk, low-income, low-level learners, or students with learning disabilities that there is a perfectly good reason to get an education and make a difference in someone else's life, even if no one did it for them.
ReplyDelete