Bloomington High School South implementing additional measures to increase graduation rates

The national high school graduation rate is the highest it’s been since 1974, according to the U.S. Department of Education. About 78.2 percent of high school seniors graduated during the 2009-10 school year.

Indiana had 64,551 students graduate that year, 77.2 percent of seniors. Although the 2009-10 Indiana graduation rate was at its highest the last few years, 5,013 students also dropped out of school.

Joe Doyle, assistant principal at Bloomington High School South, said the school has made many changes in recent years to help students stay on track.

He said the first step was looking at research that showed if students completed at least 10 credits by the end of their freshman year, they are more likely to continue on to sophomore year.

Twelve years ago, BHSS switched from semesters to trimesters with students enrolled in five classes at a time. He said many of the key freshman and sophomore courses have been switched to three-term classes.

He said this helped students to focus more on individual courses.

The school implemented changes to work with students who refused to complete their work. He said instead of just giving them a zero, these students are required to attend after-school tutoring once they have more than three missing assignments.

Two years ago, the duration of the school day was extended by one hour,, Doyle said.
“Kids that need the most help very often don’t have the time to get it,” he said.

A graduation coach has also been hired who will work with kids at risk of falling behind and keeps in regular contact with the students.

The guidance counselors are also doing more regular reviews of student performance.
Doyle said BHSS is also divided into four groups. Each principal is assigned a group and will monitor those students until they graduate.

Students are also given a teacher mentor, somewhat like a homeroom teacher, but the teacher stays with the same students for their entire high school careers.

He said about 75 to 80 percent of students usually go on to higher education.

— Sydney Murray