High School Dropout Rate Edges Down, Figures Show

A greater percentage of Ventura County high school students stayed in school during the academic year ended last June than they did the previous year, according to a state Department of Education report released Wednesday.

The latest dropout rate also reflects improvement that most Ventura County districts have shown during the past five years. Last year’s rate, 1.8%, is down from 1.9% in 1998-99 and 2.1% in 1997-98, the report shows. Statewide, 2.8% of students dropped out of school during the 1999-2000 school year--the same as the previous year.

Across Ventura County, 721 of 40,190 high school students left school before the end of June 2000, the report said. District by district, most dropout rates stayed relatively stable, with five of nine districts showing slight increases and the other four demonstrating slight decreases.

“Those programs to capture kids back into school are all working,” said Ventura County Supt. of Schools Chuck Weis. “We really can’t afford to lose anyone before a high school diploma is earned.”

Keeping teens in school will only get tougher, Weis said, when students are forced to take a state-mandated high school exit exam before they can graduate.

The dropout rate among Ventura County Latinos--who make up 43% of the total student body--was 2.7% in 1999-00, up from 2.5% the previous year. Weis said the pressure has been highest among Latino families to move their children out of school and into the work force.

“It’s definitely an area of focus, and I hope we keep finding ways to keep more Latinos in school,” he said.

Statewide in 1999-2000, 68.7% of seniors who were enrolled four years earlier received diplomas, and, during a four-year period, about 11.1% dropped out. Those percentages don’t add up to 100% because of the high numbers of students who move out of the district, switch to private schools or enter adult schools or community colleges, said Donna Rothenbaum, an education programs consultant with the state.

Graduation rates are not broken down by county.

“It’s almost impossible to get a [precise] graduation rate,” Rothenbaum said.

The data will not be accurate until an electronic system to track all California students is in place, she said, which won’t happen until 2005.

Countywide, the only districts with dropout rates at or above the state average were Fillmore Unified, Santa Paula Unified and Ventura Unified.

Fillmore had the county’s highest rate, at 4.4%, and Oak Park Unified in the east county had the lowest--about 0.3%

Jane Kampbell, assistant superintendent in Fillmore, attributed the district’s higher dropout rate to a new, stricter standard requiring members of the class of 2002 to hold a 2.0 grade point average before being allowed to graduate. Most schools in the county require students to earn a certain number of credits for a diploma, regardless of whether the grade is a C or a D.

She said Fillmore’s dropout rate may represent those students who don’t think they will meet the standard and have given up.

“Naturally, we don’t want any students to drop out,” Kampbell said. “But we also want the high school diploma to mean something for those who earn it.”

To help curb the trend, Fillmore district officials have created a number of after-school and summer intervention programs that enable students to boost their GPAs.

They have also zeroed in on the high school’s independent study program, which included about 80% of the district’s dropouts, Kampbell said. This year, it was much more difficult for students to be assigned to independent study--requiring the superintendent’s approval--and enrollment was cut dramatically.

“We are trying to retain kids in the high school where they are in a full-day program, with structure and support staff to guide them,” she said.

Teenagers who leave high school early often come from poorer families that move frequently, often back and forth from Mexico, officials said. Many others simply fall behind in credits and give up when graduation seems out of reach.

“Usually it’s circumstances beyond their control, or their own personalities don’t value education at this point in their lives,” said Richard Simpson, an assistant superintendent at Conejo Unified. “But there are dozens of ways they can finish if they want to.”

Marilyn Lippiatt, superintendent of Oak Park Unified, said the key to student retention seems to be making education personal.

Oak Park High School, with only 903 students, has that luxury. This year the school is offering students support time throughout the day in which teachers can meet with pupils individually or in small groups outside the classroom.

“If you make an effort to connect, the students won’t feel they have to drop out, and will feel they can continue in the system,” Lippiatt said. “They need to feel school is a good place for them to be and that they can succeed.”

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Ventura County Rates

Data reflect the percentage of high school students who dropped out during recent school years.

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District / Area 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 Conejo Valley Unified 1.4% 1.3% 1.5% 1.9% 0.9% Fillmore Unified 3.2% 2.9% 3.8% 4.5% 4.4% Moorpark Unified 1.4% 1.2% 1.5% 1.5% 2.4% Oak Park Unified 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.3% Ojai Unified 1.7% 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 0.6% Oxnard Union High 2.9% 2.5% 2.3% 1.2% 1.4% Santa Paula Union High 3.2% 2.2% 2.5% 2.8% 2.9% Simi Valley Unified 2.1% 1.5% 1.7% 2.0% 1.6% Ventura Unified 4.7% 4.3% 1.4% 2.0% 2.8% Ventura County 2.9% 2.5% 2.1% 1.9% 1.8% California 3.9% 3.3% 2.9% 2.8% 2.8%

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Source: State Department of Education