By TARA HETTINGER
Every school day, more than 7,000 students become high school dropouts across the nation.
Annually, that adds up to about 1.3 million students, according to the Alliance for Excellent Education.
Statistics have always shown that those who don’t finish high school have less earning power in the work force. However, the changing economy is having some see the other costs of high school dropouts, which show up in less people paying taxes, more people on social services, higher crime rates and other issues.
So, people from each county in the state came together Friday for the first-ever summit on dropout prevention to discuss ways to curb the national, state and local trend.
Clark County community members, school officials, those in the court system, police and others have been meeting for months to prepare for that trip.
“We wanted to try to identify why we have a problem here,” said Landon Samuel, State Farm Insurance agent, who organized the Clark County group of about 20 people.
Those meetings served as a precursor to the summit — which was sponsored by the Indiana Department of Education, State Farm and America’s Promise Alliance — where they talked solutions.
“Dropping out is not just an event. It’s a process that starts long before a student begins in high school, and there are key indicators that show up even in the fifth and sixth grade,” said Steve Morris, principal at Jeffersonville High School, as well as committee member who attended the summit. Those factors include failing classes and missing school, he said.
“That’s really where it starts. As kids get older, they kind of continue in that pattern in the high school level and they have a pattern of failure that’s difficult to overcome,” Morris said. “That’s where you have to have a process or plan in place for when kids start to stray a little bit.
“There has to be some way to get them back on that course and keep them on it until they graduate from high school.”
JHS has a graduation rate of 73.9 percent, according to 2008 figures from the education department. Clarksville High School has a 79.2 percent graduation rate.
“Obviously, it’s something that effects us and it’s something we’re concerned about,” said Brian Allred, principal of Clarksville High School, as well as committee member who attended the summit.
The state graduation average for 2008 was 77.8 percent. However, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett has said he wants everyone up to 90 percent by 2012. For Clarksville, that would mean 11 more students, about 4 more per year, to reach that goal. For Jeffersonville, it means 81, or 27 more students per year, according to documents from the education department.
“I’m very optimistic. But realistically, it’s a huge problem. Huge,” Samuel said. “But, when I look at the passion within the individuals that were at the summit Friday ... I see some folks who are able to make things happen and who from all appearances ... are sincere and determined to make things happen.”
Allred and Morris received ideas from the summit that they hope to bring back to the committee to discuss as possible changes for the community and school.
Allred said one part that he really liked concerned credit recovery, where students can use a computer to retake courses during school, such as during a study hall time. Now, students at Clarksville have to retake a course via summer school or by enrolling in it for a different semester.
“We understand students’ lives are complex and some may need different routes to get from point A to point B,” Allred said. “It goes back to the whole idea that we don’t have to continue educating in the way we always had and it’s OK to look at different methods to get kids what they need to give them a good education and get them to receive their diploma.”
Morris said part of the problem at JHS is regarding students who break the rules and end up on out-of-school suspension multiple times. He said that makes them miss instruction time, putting them behind in classes. It also doesn’t serve as much of a punishment to send them home, Morris added.
He said the summit showed him other schools that have created a setting for just those students off campus, where it is supervised and the students have to work. Morris said implementing something like that for Jeffersonville High School is something he will look into immediately.
Meanwhile, the Clark County committee will meet again soon to talk about what everyone learned, Samuel said.
“I think we’re at a spot where we can formulate some strategies and implement some programs,” he said.
Bennett said they — as well as everyone in the state — need to get to work.
“We cannot continue to ignore this growing problem in our state; the clock is ticking,” Bennett said. “Every 26 seconds, another student will drop out of high school in this country, so the time to act is now. It is my hope the teams that were in attendance [Friday] will return to their community and start implementing ideas from the summit immediately.”
