Dropout rate is down 1% at Alpine schools
Officials discuss options for retaining students
That number is about 5 percent of the district's high school student population.
It is down from the prior school year, when the district lost 610 students, about 6 percent of the high school population.
"It's only a 1 percent difference" between the two years, said Sam Jarman, district administrator of 10-12 services, and no program could be credited for the decrease.
Jarman and the school board discussed the graduation rate and numbers of students leaving district high schools Tuesday before the regular Board of Education meeting.
Fifty-three students left school because they did not like it; 38 students didn't return after last summer's vacation; 171 students left because parents and guardians requested the Board of Education release them to work full time or complete GED requirements.
About 54,000 students attend schools in the Alpine district.
"We still have work to do," Superintendent Vern Henshaw said.
"Absolutely, we can't be happy with the results," Jarman said.
"I think that's going to help us be a major factor if we want to reduce those numbers," Jarman said. "It's when the kids can't read, they're less inclined to do the homework and, you know, be a responsible student."
Eighty-six high school students left for charter schools, 18 for private schools and 117 left for home school.
District officials said they are disappointed those students have left Alpine schools, but relieved that they chose to continue their education elsewhere.
"Just having the detail has brought peace of mind for me," board member Christine Hannemann said. "We know they're going. We know they're not all dropping out."
The majority of the Class of 2006 passed Utah Basic Skills Competency Test and received diplomas.
Eighty-one students received diplomas, although they took the UBSCT three times and did not pass all three sections.
Seven students received "certificates of completion" instead of diplomas, which means they completed the required classes and either did not take the UBSCT, or took the UBSCT but did not retake it two extra times in an attempt to pass all sections.
E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com
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