High Schools Show Marked Decreases in Dropout Rates : Education: County’s 15.5% is well below state’s 18.2%. Greater emphasis on at-risk students is credited for improvement.

Orange County high schools have made significant progress in their battle against the dropout rate in the past six years, boasting fewer dropouts in the class of 1991 than the average California school district, officials said Thursday.

Statistics released by the state Department of Education showed that in Orange County, 15.5% of the class of 1991 left school without graduating, compared to a statewide average of 18.2%. Orange County’s 1991 rate also represented a significant reduction compared to the 19.9% dropout rate posted in 1986.

Only two districts in Orange County--Santa Ana Unified with 24.6% and Orange Unified with 18.7%--had 1991 dropout rates that exceeded the state average. But the figures for those districts were still a tremendous improvement compared to 1986, when more than four in every 10 students dropped out in Santa Ana and the dropout rate in Orange was 21.7%.

“We are doing very well in Orange County,” said Georgiann Boyd, coordinator of student services for the County Department of Education. “We are tracking our students better, using technology and lots of outreach to find out where they are. We have made the dropout rate a very high priority.”

California officials were jubilant over the statewide figures, which showed that for the first time since 1986--when the state began keeping dropout data--the rate fell below 20%. State schools Supt. Bill Honig congratulated local school officials for doing so well in the face of skyrocketing enrollment and evaporating state funds.

“This takes a lot of dedicated and enthusiastic teachers, administrators and parents,” he said in an interview. “People have been working hard on this, and it’s continuing to pay off. That is not to say 18% is satisfactory--it is not. But what is important is that we are improving.”

Honig said there has been steady progress toward keeping young people in school since the state began education reforms in the mid-1980s. But he said he hopes to bring the statewide dropout rate below 10% by the turn of the century.

Orange County is progressing toward that goal faster than the state average, although the rate of improvement in the dropout rate slowed from 1990 to 1991. Statewide, the dropout rate dropped nearly two points during that period, while Orange County’s rate dropped only from 15.8% to 15.5%.

In fact, a few Orange County districts that posted an overall drop from 1986 to 1991 saw their dropout rates rise between 1990 and last year. In Capistrano Unified, the dropout rate increased from 5.6% to 12.4% in that period; similarly, the Anaheim Union High School District rose from 9.4% to 13.1%, and Tustin Unified’s went from 12.1% to 13.1%.

Many of the Orange County schools that are winning their wars against the dropout problem attribute their success to stepped-up efforts to design special programs for troubled youths and to track those who leave and lure them back into the classroom.

That kind of effort paid off in Newport-Mesa Unified, which slashed its dropout rate from 19.1% in 1986 to 6.4% for the class of 1991, the biggest gain in the county.

“We’ve really been a part of a trend to try to identify as soon as possible youngsters we feel are in danger of dropping out, and provide services and counseling for them early on,” said Dale C. Woolley, director of student support and research services at Newport-Mesa.

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified, with the lowest 1991 dropout rate in the county at 3.9%, has focused tremendous effort on such students in its alternative education program. High-risk students now gather for part of each day in special classes where they receive extra tutoring, often by adults who understand the disadvantages the students face in coming to school each day, said district Supt. James O. Fleming.

In the four years the program has been in effect, the grades of the at-risk students have shot up, he said.

In Santa Ana Unified, similar programs have helped cut the number of dropouts from more than 1,000 in 1986 to less than 700 last year, said district spokeswoman Diane Thomas. Concentrated outreach to parents--who now attend bilingual after-school sessions to learn how to help their children learn and study better--has been a major focus, Thomas said.

A stay-in-school program, started several years ago by Superior Court Judge Jack K. Mandel, helps adolescents develop goals and ambitions by bringing in professionals who talk about how they became successful, she said.

In some districts, increases in the required course load and in the rigors of the academic program make staying in school tougher. Edgar Seal, superintendent of Brea-Olinda Unified, where the dropout rate increased from 4.2% in 1986 to 6% last year, said students there must complete 240 units to graduate, while other high schools in the county require as few as 220.

“That makes it harder to finish school,” Seal said.

In Capistrano Unified, officials questioned how well the statistics depict reality.

California calculates the dropout rate by tallying the numbers of students who leave school between 10th and 12th grades without turning to some alternative way to earn a diploma or its equivalent. A student who has missed school for 45 days and has not turned up at a private or other public campus is counted as a dropout.

Associate Supt. William D. Eller of Capistrano Unified noted that the formula includes in its dropout count all students who leave without requesting their records. That makes the dropout rate look worse than it is, he said, because many students move to other states or countries where their new schools do not demand copies of their transcripts.

But even in districts making real gains against dropout rates, progress can seem tenuous in economically troubled times.

Fleming of Placentia-Yorba Linda said budget cuts have taken major chunks out of services he considers essential for youths at risk for dropping out. This year’s budget forced the district to cut its counseling staff in half, from 26 to 13, and pare back its nurses from nine to two.

“We’re seriously worried that we’re dismantling some of the programs we think have been very successful,” Fleming said. “I think we’re putting ourselves at risk by not having the resources to help and protect these kids.”

Times staff writer Jean Merl in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Dropout Rate at Lowest Point California’s high school dropout rate last year reached its lowest point since 1986. The percentage of high school dropouts in Orange County and the state: California 1991: 18.2% Orange County 1991: 15.5% Source: California Department of Education

High School Dropout Rates

Orange County’s dropout rate for the 1990-91 school year was lower than all neighboring counties except San Diego. San Diego: 11.4% Orange: 15.5% Riverside: 16.8% San Bernardino: 19.3% Los Angeles: 26.2%

Districts at a Glance

All but two districts posted high school dropout rates lower than the state average. The district with the worst rate--Santa Ana Unified--also showed the most improvement since 1986. Placentia Unified had the lowest rate in the county--3.9%

Change District 1986 Rate 1991 Rate Since 1986 Anaheim Union High 28.8% 13.1% -15.7% Brea-Olinda Unified 4.2 6.0 1.8 Capistrano Unified 17.6 12.4 -5.2 Fullerton Joint Union High 19.9 14.6 -5.3 Garden Grove Unified 11.9 13.2 1.3 Huntington Beach Union High 20.1 11.8 -8.3 Irvine Unified 8.8 5.6 -3.2 Laguna Beach Unified 4.1 6.2 2.1 Los Alamitos Unified 9.5 6.7 -2.8 Newport-Mesa Unified 19.1 6.4 -12.7 Orange Unified 21.7 18.7 -3.0 Placentia Unified 8.0 3.9 -4.1 Saddleback Valley Unified 11.9 8.8 -3.1 Santa Ana Unified 41.8 24.6 -17.2 Tustin Unified 17.5 13.1 -4.4 Orange County 19.9 15.5 -4.4 CALIFORNIA 25.0% 18.2% -6.8%

Number District of Dropouts Anaheim Union High 464 Brea-Olinda Unified 22 Capistrano Unified 224 Fullerton Joint Union High 386 Garden Grove Unified 364 Huntington Beach Union High 415 Irvine Unified 89 Laguna Beach Unified 10 Los Alamitos Unified 38 Newport-Mesa Unified 85 Orange Unified 347 Placentia Unified 56 Saddleback Valley Unified 146 Santa Ana Unified 675 Tustin Unified 111 Orange County * 4,260 CALIFORNIA 59,612

*Not included in the district numbers are dropouts from special programs or Juvenile Hall. However, those dropouts are included in the Orange County total.

FIVE LOWEST RATES

Rank District 1986 1991 Difference 1 Placentia Unified 8.0% 3.9% -4.1% 2 Irvine Unified 8.8 5.6 -3.2 3 Brea-Olinda Unified 4.2 6.0 +1.8 4 Laguna Beach Unified 4.1 6.2 +2.1 5 Newport-Mesa Unified 19.1 6.4 -12.7

FIVE HIGHEST RATES

Rank District 1986 1991 Difference 1 Santa Ana Unified 41.8% 24.6% -17.2% 2 Orange Unified 21.7 18.7 -3.0 3 Fullerton Joint Union High 19.9 14.6 -5.3 4 Garden Grove Unified 11.9 13.2 1.3 5 Anaheim Union High 28.8 13.1 -15.7 5 Tustin Unified 17.5 13.1 -4.4

FIVE BIGGEST IMPROVEMENTS

Rank District 1986 1991 Difference 1 Santa Ana Unified 41.8% 24.6% -17.2% 2 Anaheim Union High 28.8 13.1 -15.7 3 Newport-Mesa Unified 19.1 6.4 -12.7 4 Huntington Beach Union High 20.1 11.8 -8.3 5 Fullerton Joint Union High 19.9 14.6 -5.3 Source: California Department of Education