More grads, fewer dropouts

Published 9:00 pm Monday, October 16, 2006

More Snohomish County teenagers graduated and fewer dropped out of high school during the 2004-05 school year.

Across the county, 1,776 teenagers in the ninth through 12th grades dropped out, about 350 fewer than the year before, according to data released Monday by the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The dropout total would equate to a campus about the size of Edmonds-Woodway High School.

The rate of students quitting school in the county fell from 6.4 percent to 5.5 percent in 2005.

Over a four-year period, 21.2 percent of Snohomish County students originally part of the class of 2005 dropped out. That’s down from 23.6 percent for the class of 2004.

“It’s easy to let kids slip through the cracks, and I think we are doing a much better job not letting that happen,” said Warren Hopkins, deputy superintendent for the Arlington School District.

Along with dropout rates, the state tallies how many students graduate on time.

Statewide, about 74 percent of high school seniors graduated in four years, compared with 70 percent the year before. The graduation rate rose to 79 percent when students who took extra time are factored in.

More girls graduate on time than boys.

Statewide statistics show 77.9 percent of girls in the class of 2005 graduated on time, compared with 70.9 percent of boys.

In Snohomish County, on-time graduation rates ranged from 64.6 percent in Sultan to 93.9 percent in Darrington.

The statewide improvement can be attributed to several factors, state officials said.

“The trend line is looking better as time moves on,” said Lisa Ireland, a research analyst for the state superintendent. “The quality of the data is better … and schools have made a more concerted effort to keep kids in the system.”

The Arlington School District’s four-year graduation rate increased from 63.4 percent in 2004 to 77.2 percent. Its total graduation rate rose from 67.7 percent to 81.7 percent.

At the same time, its annual dropout rate dipped from 10.3 percent in 2003 to 3.9 percent in 2005.

“We are doing a better job of tracking and following up with kids,” said Hopkins, the Arlington deputy superintendent.

Arlington’s four-year-old Freshman Academy, which includes smaller class sizes for students who struggled in middle school, also is making a difference, Hopkins said.

More of the students who got extra help early on remained in school, compared with similar groups of students in previous years, Hopkins said.

“I think we are just more intentional all the way around on what we do,” said Maurene Stanton, principal at the Freshman Academy and Weston (Alternative) High School. “We are trying to personalize more.”

Many districts were poring over the state report Monday.

The graduation rate in the Edmonds School District remained flat at about 67 percent.

District leaders hope changes made last year will boost graduation rates.

“We are just getting those long-term strategies into place,” said Debbie Jakala, an Edmonds School District spokeswoman. “We are very optimistic we will see a change in next year’s report.”

Everett schools posted similar graduation rates to Edmonds’. District leaders also expect improved results through new programs aimed at helping students at risk of not graduating.

“On-time graduation is a focus of all staff at all grade levels,” said Marry Waggoner, a school district spokeswoman.

Schools are under increasing pressure to raise their graduation rates. The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires schools to graduate 85 percent of their students by 2014.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.