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Dropout rates decrease at area schools
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Published: March 6, 2010
Updated: 03/07/2010 06:00 am
Dropout rates for Cabarrus County and Kannapolis City school systems declined during the 2008-09 year, compared to the 2007-08 year, according to a data released Thursday, in a report from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
Cabarrus County Schools went from 394 students who dropped out in 2007-08, to 359 in 2008-09, which was a decrease of 8.9 percent.
Kannapolis City Schools went from having 98 students drop out in 2007-08, to 94 in 2008-09, a 4.1 percent decline.
A dropout is defined by the state school board's policy as a "student who leaves school for any reason before graduation or completion of a program of studies without transferring to another elementary or secondary school," according to the report.
Across the state, the dropout rate among grades 9-12 was 4.27 percent in 2008-09, which was a decrease from the 4.97 rate in 2007-08.
"I am pleased to see we are making progress, but there is work to be done," said Cabarrus County Schools Superintendent Barry Shepherd. "If one student drops out, that's one too many."
Even though both school systems' rates decreased in the 2008-09 year, Kannapolis City Schools was listed in the report's findings as having one of the highest dropout rates in the state.
One of the initiatives the school system said it has implemented recently to help reduce the rate is the Freshman Academy, which began two years ago as a way to for ninth-grade students to have a smooth transition as they began at A. L. Brown High School.
Ellen Boyd, director of community relations for Kannapolis City Schools, said the system is just now seeing the impact of the Freshman Academy.
Administrators for the school system also reported that, of the 94 who dropped out last year, one student returned to A. L. Brown and stayed, and 11 students moved out of the state or district.
Cabarrus County Schools attributed its reduced dropout rate to efforts like the opening Performance Learning Center, which allows students to have a nontraditional high school experience and schedule, implementing transition camps for ninth-graders and having dropout prevention coordinators.
Across the state, the number one reason for dropping out of school was attendance, according to the report. Both Cabarrus County and Kannapolis City school systems said this was the main reason their students dropped out.
In addition to the number of dropouts, the report provided information about acts of crime and violence within school systems across the state and suspension rates.
The state report said the most frequently reported acts in high school were possession of a controlled substance, an alcoholic beverage, a weapon excluding firearms, and powerful explosives. The state's acts of crime and violence among high school students declined by 1.4 percent from those in 2007-08, according to the report.
In the report's findings, Kannapolis City Schools was listed as having one of the highest rates of reportable acts in grades 9-12. Its rate in 2008-09 was 34.84 per 1,000 students, with 44 acts among its high school population of 1,263.
"Thirty-three of the 44 acts we had were either possession of alcohol or possession of a controlled substance, and we make a concerted effort to find these," Boyd said. "You don't want to have these on your campus, but we look really hard."
She also said that, in surveys given last year, 98 percent of parents said they felt safe or very safe in the district, and 94 percent of students and 99 percent of staff agreed.
Cabarrus County Schools had a rate of 14.58 of reportable acts per 1,000 students during the 2008-09 year. There were 112 acts reported among its 7,683 students in grades 9-12.
This week's report also provided information about suspensions.
There were 3,795 short-term suspensions reported for Cabarrus County Schools in 2008-09, 200 long-term suspensions and three expulsions.
The long-term suspensions dropped in the school system, from the previous year's 257, and short-term suspensions increased by four percent.
Ronnye Boone, public relations director for the school system, attributed the drop in long-term suspensions to teachers and administrators communicating and implementing expectations well and students displaying appropriate behavior.
She said the rise in short-term suspensions could be due to the increase in the number of students in the district.
"We are taking our no tolerance policies seriously," Boone said. "We want students to understand when you break rules, there are consequences."
Kannapolis City Schools reported 1,355 short-term suspensions, nine long-term suspensions and zero expulsions for 2008-09.
Assistant Superintendent Debra Morris attributed a higher number of suspensions to the school system's strict policies and not having an alternative school that other districts have for students who are suspended to attend.
"That may be some of the reason our numbers are higher," Morris said. "Our number of suspensions is indicative of our strict policies. We try to use other means as much as possible."
Administrators from both school systems also said that they believe the dropout numbers for the 2009-10 year will be even lower in next year's report due to more emphasis on preventative measures.
• Contact reporter Jessica Groover: 704-789-9152
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