MOUNT DESERT ISLAND — The school district here aims to see that all of its students earn a high school graduation diploma.
The issue of secondary students withdrawing from school before earning their diploma landed on the board’s agenda at the beginning of the 2012-2013 year. The issue, in this particular district, is considered to be complicated by the fragmented geography of the elementary and middle schools that feed into the high school, including three located on offshore islands.
According to special services director Kelley Rush Sanborn, who recently presented an initial report to the district’s board on dropout rates over the past five years, statistical analysis is complicated by the different definitions that the state and the district have of “dropout.”
The state does not account for students who dropped out but then went back to their studies to get a general education development (GED) certificate. Nor does it account for students who take a fifth and sixth year to complete their studies and earn the regular high school diploma.
Total enrollment at the high school is in the 500-plus range, putting each of the four grades at 100-plus.
For 2011-2012, the senior class numbered 118. For that year, according to the state definition, 24 students dropped out.
By contrast, by the district’s definition, 17 students dropped out.
Overall, for the five years in the report, the state says that 123 students dropped out of MDI; the district puts the number at 58. In either scenario, two-third of the dropouts are boys.
The district is able to track, to some extent, those students who return to school or to adult ed to earn a GED. The district also accounts for fifth- and sixth-year students who earn their diplomas.
“A number of kids earned some kind of certificate,” said Sanborn.
Although the district’s numbers are lower than the state’s, even one dropout is a matter of concern, said Superintendent Howard Colter.
“This report is meant to be the beginning of our paying extra attention to what I think is an attainable goal, which is to have no dropouts,” Colter said.
Colter’s goal was to have every student earn a diploma, through high school, adult ed or the GED program.
The data helps stakeholders—the board, administration, teachers and parents—understand the details of which students are dropping out, he said.
The district already has some excellent programs in place that provide flexibility, services and personalized attention to students at risk, Colter said.
“It isn’t as if nothing’s going on. There’s plenty going on,” he said. “But there’s more that can be done.”
Colter detailed some legislative, policy and budget options for the board to consider pursuing. For example, educators might consider advocating for a change in law that requires students to stay in school until age 18.
Districts, community colleges, social agencies and the court system could work together to keep students from walking away. The board might reconsider graduation requirements for students at risk of dropping out, as well as exceptions to expulsion when a student faces disciplinary procedures.
The board might consider alternative pathways to graduation, such as distance learning, internships and evening classes; and coordination between the schools, allowing students to move to another of the district’s schools based on what that school might offer that could help keep the child moving ahead.
Assistant principal Matt Haney said that among the high school’s current programs and services are an alternative school, and a “turnaround achievement program” for special ed students who are about to drop out or have dropped out, and who can receive off-campus services.
The high school has significant support services, including guidance counselors and a district social worker, a daily advisory program, a screening program for academic and behavior problems, and numerous academic support opportunities such as one-on-one-tutors, study hall support and individual case managers.
The vast majority of kids who drop out likely do so because of social, emotional or drug- and alcohol-related problems, either with themselves or with family, said Haney.
“I think, if you look over time, we have a problem,” said Haney. “It’s not a problem that’s unique to us, but it is a problem that we need to do better at.”
Principal Matthew Janger agreed.
“If we have 10 kids out of every cohort who comes through here who leave here without a diploma, that’s a tragedy,” he said. “And so we really need to think about how we can get better at that. Every one of those 10 kids is a story, and we can tell every one of them”¦ What we’re trying to do is create a situation where we maintain the [academic] rigor, but where we can streamline so we can focus on the needs of each of those kids.“