SIMI VALLEY : Board Seeks Ways to Curb Dropout Rate

Spurred by an increasing number of dropouts in Simi Valley, school board members have called for a new method of tracking students who leave school and getting them back in class.

The Simi Valley Unified School District had the third highest dropout rate in Ventura County in 1993, according to a recent state report. State education officials define a dropout as any student who has been absent for 45 consecutive days and has not enrolled at another school.

“I’m really unhappy about our dropout rate,” board member Debbie Sandland said. “I think we have a real serious problem.”

According to state figures, the number of Simi Valley 10th- through 12th-grade students who left school without a diploma rose from 11% in 1992 to 12.5% in 1993. Neighboring Conejo Valley Unified School District had one of the lowest dropout rates in the county last year at 5.2%, the state report showed.

While school board members questioned the accuracy of the state’s findings at their meeting this week, they agreed that Simi Valley has a problem that needs to be addressed.

“It seems to me the issue is not these numbers,” board member Diane Collins said during the meeting. “(But) we need to bring back a plan to address the problem.”

A recent district study identified several dropout categories, including pregnant minors and students who have been expelled. The report also said about 38 of the 179 students who left school in 1993 dropped out after their 18th birthdays.

At their retreat later this month, board members hope to develop a plan for reaching students who are at risk of becoming dropouts, Sandland said.

“We need a districtwide policy to track dropouts,” she said. “I really think we’ve been too casual about kids dropping out. We haven’t taken this seriously.”