High School Dropout Rate Dips to 3.1%

Ventura County’s high school dropout rate declined slightly last year, indicating that efforts aimed at keeping students in school appear to be working, educators said Tuesday.

Overall, the county’s dropout rate was 3.1% for the 1993-94 school year, down from 3.7% for the previous year. That is significantly lower than the statewide average of 4.9%, said Richard Diaz, head of the state Department of Education’s demographics unit.

“Like many districts around the state, Ventura County schools are offering a lot more programs and showing more interest in reducing dropouts,” Diaz said. “Students have a variety of options to keep them in class, from continuation schools to intense counseling for those at risk of dropping out.”

The numbers from the state Department of Education pointed out bright spots in county educators’ efforts to decrease the dropout rate, particularly in the Fillmore Unified and Oxnard Union high school districts.

Fillmore’s dropout rate was just 1.6% last year, pared significantly from the 3.8% it registered when the state began compiling dropout statistics in 1986. And Oxnard Union High’s rate fell even more dramatically, from 11.3% in 1986 to 2.6% for the class of 1994.

A key factor in Fillmore’s success is the relatively small size of the 830-student high school and the city’s close-knit community, said Assistant Principal Aldo Calcagno. If a student is absent more than three days, a counselor calls home to find out why, Calcagno said.

Police often round up truants and bring them back to school, he said. But the most effective tool is identifying potential dropouts as early as eighth grade and channeling them into small classes where they can receive individual attention, Calcagno said.

“We have communicated to the kids that school is important and we want them to be there,” he said.

An increased rate of dropouts in Moorpark, Santa Paula and Ojai caused concern there. In Moorpark, the dropout rate rose one-half of a percent from the 2.0% recorded in 1994.

“We are looking to see why that has gone up,” said Frank DePasquale, assistant superintendent of instruction.

The Moorpark Unified School District has worked with the city and a Latino-advocacy group, El Concilio del Condado de Ventura, to cut the number of dropouts, DePasquale said. Students who are falling behind meet with teachers and counselors after school to complete homework assignments and talk about problems they may be facing, he said.

There is also a financial incentive for schools to retain students. For every student that drops out in the Moorpark school district, the district loses $3,095 in state funds. That added up to a $111,420 loss for Moorpark Unified in the 1993-94 school year.

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High School Dropout Rates

Number of District 1985-86 1992-93 1993-94 ’94 dropouts Conejo Valley Unified 1.6% 1.5% 1.4% 78 Fillmore Unified 3.8% 2.6% 1.6% 16 Moorpark Unified 10.3% 2.0% 2.5% 36 Oak Park Unified 1.7% 0.4% 0.2% 1 Ojai Unified 6.5% 2.0% 4.3% 46 Oxnard Union High 11.3% 3.8% 2.6% 319 Santa Paula Union High 8.8% 3.3% 3.9% 51 Simi Valley Unified 3.4% 3.5% 2.6% 150 Ventura Unified 3.0% 4.3% 3.6% 155 Countywide 5.9% 3.7% 3.1% 1,039 Statewide 8.9% 5.0% 4.9% 70,683

Source: State Department of Education