Ind. dropout rates worry school

Teachers throughout Indiana are committed to drastically lowering the K-12 student dropout rate in Indiana.

Administrators stressed the gravity of the dropout situation in Indiana during the Indiana Dropout summit that took place last week.

Currently, only three of four students entering the ninth grade will graduate from high school, Dr. Tony Bennett, superintendent of Public Education, said in a press release.
“We cannot continue to ignore this growing problem in our state,” Bennett said. “The clock is ticking.”

Representatives from counties throughout Indiana shared ideas that had helped lower the dropout rate in their communities, along with ones that were less effective, said Lauren Auld, press secretary for the Indiana Department of Education.

During the 2007-08 school year, Monroe County had a total of 71 students drop out of school in grades 9 through 12, according to statistics from the Indiana Department of Education’s Web site.

Jennifer Staab, the Healthy Schools coordinator for Monroe County Community Schools Corporation, said in an e-mail interview that the key for preventing dropouts lies in the connection between students and the people in their lives.

“It’s not about what program or intervention you put into your school,” Staab said. “It’s about the connections and relationships you build with your students.”

The dropout issue can begin before children enter middle school, making it a lot broader of an issue than it can appear, Staab said.

“We had a lot of discussion among the team that most of our high school students who are ready to drop out became disconnected in 5th or 6th grade,” Staab said. “When we look at this issue, we have to look at it from a broader perspective.”

The main hope for Monroe County Representatives when dealing with the dropout rate is to form a closer connection with the students and build strong relationships, Staab said.

“They should feel like at least one adult cares about their success,”  Staab said.