Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
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Wednesday, October 21, 2009
By AMANDA BUCK - Bulletin Staff Writer
On-time graduation rates improved in all three local school systems between 2008 and 2009, and two of the three were above the statewide rate this year, according to data released Tuesday.
Eighty-three percent of students who graduated in Virginia in 2009 did so in four years, or “on time,” according to a report from the state Department of Education. Locally, Henry County posted an on-time graduation rate of 81.3 percent, Martinsville had 86.3 percent, and Patrick County had 88.7 percent, data show.
Although Henry County’s rate was 1.7 percent below the state rate, the 2009 number was 6.3 points higher than 2008’s rate of 75 percent. Schools Superintendent Anthony Jackson, who is in his first year on the job, was pleased about that.
“I’m thrilled” with the increase, Jackson said. “We’ve closed the gap significantly.”
Jackson was particularly pleased with the progress made by male students, whose on-time rate was among the county’s lowest in 2008 at 72.7 percent. For the class of 2009, the on-time graduation rate among male students was 81 percent, an increase of 8.3 percent.
The rate for economically disadvantaged students also improved, from 66.2 percent to 74.2 percent. The state average this year was 73.2 percent.
Several factors contributed to the increases, Jackson said. For one, school officials are doing a better job of tracking students who leave the school system and documenting when they enroll elsewhere.
Under the state’s method of tracking students, every Virginia student who entered ninth grade for the first time in 2005-06 is tracked. If a student transfers to another school system and graduates there, he or she is counted toward that school’s graduation rate.
If students are not documented as graduating elsewhere, they might be counted as dropouts for the county.
Jackson said school officials also “make sure every student has a plan for high school” that helps guide them through their four years. In addition, there are several programs available for students who get behind and need more help, including alternative programs such as the Center for Community Learning; summer school; and virtual programs that let students take courses online to catch up with their peers.
The school system has one virtual program and is looking into a second that might be added next school year, he said.
The goal, he said, is “making sure every child has the opportunity to finish with their cohort group.”
“Some will fall behind,” he said. “We have to look at ways to recover quickly” and ensure that they graduate.
County teachers and administrators have worked hard to build relationships with students and parents, Jackson said, adding that they get credit for making sure students stay in school.
Because the graduation rates reported Tuesday are on-time rates, they do not account for students who take longer than four years to graduate. The rate also does not include students who earn a GED, or high school equivalency, said Charles Pyle, director of communications with the state education department.
In Henry County, 86.5 percent, or 564, of the 652 students who started high school in 2005-06 earned either a diploma, GED or completion certificate, data show.
The county’s dropout rate for 2009 was 10.3 percent, a decline from last year’s rate of 14 percent.
Jackson said he was happy to see the number decline, but there still is work to be done.
“I won’t be satisfied until 100 percent” graduate on time, he said.
Scott Kizner, superintendent of Martinsville Schools, shared that sentiment. Like the county, the city saw its on-time rate improve in 2009, from 81.5 percent to 86.3 percent.
Kizner was happy about the improvement and that the city’s rate is 3.3 percent above the state rate, but he was not satisfied.
“It’s good,” he said, but “it could be better. It’s above the state average, but I would like to see it even better than that.”
Kizner said city teachers and administrators are working hard to try to make sure every student can graduate.
“We put a lot of resources in programs to give kids support if they’re struggling,” he said, citing as one example the alternative education program, which is held in the administrative offices at the former Druid Hills Elementary School. Students there have lower student-teacher ratios, and they are allowed more flexibility in their schedules, he said.
The schools also provide online courses, after-school tutoring and closely follow attendance data. If officials notice that a student has missed school for three days without a legitimate reason, “we put together a plan right away to help change their mind and get them to school,” Kizner said.
Teachers make home visits, talk with parents and basically do everything they can to help students graduate, Kizner said.
Those efforts seem to be working. With a dropout rate of 1.9 percent, the city is well below the state rate of 7.9 percent. The dropout rate for 2009 also bested the 2008 rate of 6.2 percent.
Kizner said city students who are at risk of dropping out often have jobs that require them to work late at night, have had children of their own and are having problems with day care, or they are struggling academically. Teachers meet with those students and their parents to help them, be it by adjusting their schedules so they don’t have to be at school so early or allowing them to leave early to care for children, provided they will earn the required credits in summer school.
What it comes down to, Kizner said, is “there’s nothing to gain by having a kid drop out of school.”
Kizner also pointed to the city’s on-time graduate rate of 82.1 percent for black students, which is above the state rate of 75.7 percent for 2009. Because the city schools have a black student population of about 72 percent, that figure is key for Martinsville, he said.
The system also offers a GED program at the Druid Hills site. The city’s cohort completion rate — which includes students who earned GEDs as well as on-time graduates — was 88.2 percent for 2009, data show. That means of the 212 students who began ninth grade in 2005-06, 187 completed their education.
Students who are not counted in the completion rate or the dropout rate might be taking longer than four years to graduate, might be on long-term absence or could be unaccounted for, the state report says.
Roger Morris, superintendent of Patrick County Schools, was pleased Tuesday with his system’s on-time graduation rate of 88.7 percent, which was an increase of 3.2 percent from last year’s 85.5. But Morris was even happier with Patrick’s cohort completion rate of 95 percent, which put it in the top eight systems in the state, he said.
“We’re very pleased at how the rate has gone,” Morris said. “Of course, we want every student to finish school. But we’re very pleased about the on-time rate” and the number of students graduating the following semester or year.
Morris said school officials have emphasized one-on-one attention and parent contact. There also is a teacher who is charged with following up on absences and “making sure everybody comes” to school, Morris said.
“Our community, parents and students deserve a lot of credit as well,” he said.
He pointed out that 86 percent of the class of 2009 is pursuing postsecondary training, be it college, community college or trade school.
In 2009, Patrick’s dropout rate was 8.6 percent, nearly a percent higher than 2008’s 7.7 percent.
Morris said that although he is optimistic that the figures will continue to improve, he is afraid that state budget cuts will affect schools’ ability to reach at-risk students.
“I’m very concerned that the state budget will impact at-risk programming, such as alternative education and other things, in the coming years if something is not done,” he said.
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