County high school dropout rate falls again

The Clark County School District's high school dropout rate has decreased for the second consecutive year, according to 2008-09 district statistics released Friday.

Last school year's dropout rate of 4.6 percent appears to be the lowest in more than two decades, a longtime district official said.

"It's as low as I've ever seen it," said Sue Daellenbach, the school system's assistant superintendent for assessment who has been with the district since 1985.

In all, 1,127 more high school students stayed in school compared with the previous year, district officials said.

The district provided dropout rate statistics extending back to the 1991-92 school year. Since then, the rate has fluctuated from a high of 11.8 percent during the 1996-97 school year, to last year's low.

Superintendent Walt Rulffes said he's optimistic, but tempering his enthusiasm until the district can maintain its lower rate for several years.

"We have to have the holding power to make sure this is a valid trend and not just a blip," Rulffes said.

Officials with the Nevada Department of Education could not be reached Friday afternoon to confirm the district's statistics.

The results come during a time when the school system, the fifth largest in the nation, saw a decrease in student enrollment. Its latest figures indicate about 309,000 students are enrolled, down from the previous year's more than 311,000 students.

Rulffes credited high school teachers' and administrators' focus on getting students to pass their proficiency exams as a key reason for the dropout decrease.

"Once they pass, they don't get discouraged, and are less likely to drop out," he said.

The state-required proficiency exams in English, math and science are offered to students beginning their sophomore years. The state also requires students to pass a reading and writing exam, which they can take beginning in their junior year.

Nevada is one of 23 states that require passage of proficiency exams for graduation.

Rulffes also credited a program called Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, for improving the dropout rate. The program focuses on teens who would be categorized as average students and offers them extra help in math, science and writing.

The program's goal is to have such students take advanced placement courses. The program focuses on low-income students and students who do not have immediate family members who have gone to college.

Both Rulffes and Daellenbach said the slumping economy might have a benefit: It might be preventing students from dropping out.

"We suspect there aren't as many jobs out there to distract students from school," Rulffes said.

Louise Helton, state director for Communities in Schools of Nevada, a nonprofit group that works closely with the district, said some of the improvement in student achievement, in this case fewer students dropping out, has as much to do with student happiness outside of the classroom as inside.

Last school year, the organization provided social services such as feeding low-income students, providing them with basic school supplies as well as medical and mental services. The program also helped high school and middle school students who are struggling, Helton said.

Helton said low-income families need this help, and her organization is aiding district schools.

"Anything a child needs that their family can't provide, we will work to take care of that," Helton said. "It makes a significant difference in the children's ability to learn, and therefore the schools' ability to teach them."

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.