Statewide School Dropout Rate Falls Again New Programs, Law That Suspends Driver’S Licenses Get Credit For Change

State Schools Superintendent Anne Fox said personal attention and students’ desire to keep driving have helped reduce Idaho’s high school dropout rate.

Educators say parental influence and creative ways of reaching students in the classroom deserve just as much credit.

About 5,000 students, or 5.64 percent of Idaho’s ninth- through 12th-grade enrollment, dropped out during the 1997-98 school year. That was down from 6.21 percent the previous year and 6.9 percent the year before, the state Department of Education said.

The national dropout rate averages about 5 percent.

North Idaho’s high school dropout rate varied dramatically between districts in 1997-98.

In Coeur d’Alene, the dropout rate is slightly below the state average at 4.91 percent. That’s up a small amount from the 1996-97 rate of 4.51 percent.

In Post Falls, Lakeland and Bonner County, the 1997-98 dropout rates were significantly higher than the state average at 8.02 percent, 8.23 percent and 8.32 percent, respectively.

The dropout rate fell in Post Falls from 8.89 percent in 1996-97. But the rates increased from 7.40 percent in Lakeland and 7.18 percent in Bonner County from 1996-97.

The Moscow School District has one of the lowest dropout rates in North Idaho at 3.72 percent, down from 5.93 percent in 1996-97.

Robin Nettinga, president of the Idaho Education Association, said one reason Idaho’s rate has improved is a new emphasis on connecting with students who have trouble learning so they don’t get left behind.

“There is a movement toward alternative education at younger and younger ages,” she said. “School districts are working to help students at younger ages who might be different by placing them in programs where you have smaller groups of 10 to 12.”

Fox said the Schools Within A School program, aimed at strengthening the bond between students and their school, and a 1996 state law suspending the driver’s licenses of students who drop out before turning 18, have been the keys.

The state Transportation Department said 585 licenses were suspended this year through November and officials expect the total to reach about 700. The state suspended 719 licenses of drivers under 18 who were not enrolled in school during 1997.

“One of the things I started doing this fall was to hold our principals accountable with an answer as to why students dropped out,” said Fox, who lost a re-election bid in November to Marilyn Howard.

“Up to this point, people have just gone about their daily business when students dropped out. We need to find out what we can do to keep them in school.”

The Schools Within A School program places students with teachers for a block of time during each school day, giving educators the chance to get to know students better and help them with studies. It has been adopted by a number of districts, and Fox said the results have been encouraging.

She also said more of an effort is being made to address the needs of students who speak limited English, a disadvantage that too often leads to frustration and quitting.

“Getting Hispanic students more academic help and teaching them to speak English is another factor that is turning our dropout rate around. I think we identified 17,000 limited-English speaking students, about 15,000 of which are Hispanics,” Fox said.

Don Goerg, a teacher at Harwood Elementary School in Rigby and president of the Idaho Association of Professional Educators, said parental expectations keep some students from even considering dropping out.

“If you have parents that expect you to do well, they’re going to encourage you to take good courses,” Goerg said. “I think that spills over into high school.”

THE NUMBERS About 5,000 students, or 5.64 percent of Idaho’s ninth- through 12th-grade enrollment, dropped out during the 1997-98 school year. That was down from 6.21 percent the previous year and 6.9 percent the year before, the state Department of Education said. The national dropout rate averages about 5 percent.

Staff writer Heather Lalley contributed to this report.