Alabama dropout summit to tackle range of issues

ALABAMA'S DROPOUT RATE CONTINUES TO RANK AS ONE OF THE HIGHEST IN THE COUNTRY, AND GOVERNOR BOB RILEY INTENDS TO TACKLE THE PROBLEM HEAD-ON WITH A DROP-OUT PREVENTION SUMMIT AIMED AT IMPLEMENTING PREVENTATIVE PROGRAMS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.

Alabama governor Bob Riley will hold a Dropout Prevention Summit on March 5 in Montgomery to Address the state's dropout rate and highlight the best practices for prevention. The summit will be similar to several held across the country in conjunction with America's Promise Alliance.

Alabama's summit, which will address the needs of the entire state, will also feature local and national programs aimed at keeping students in school until graduation.

Linda Tilly is the executive director of VOICES For Alabama's Children, a non-profit organization that champions children's and teen's issues throughout the state.

"If a child is retained in a grade one time," Tilly said in her presentation during the Doing What Matters For Tuscaloosa's Children Conference, "it increases the likelihood that that child will eventually drop out of high school by 50 percent. We have got to start working with these kids early."

On the lips of many will also be new legislation, proposed by State Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, which seeks to raise the age at which a student is allowed to drop out from 16 to 17 and also require an exit interview with the student before he or she is allowed to disenroll.

Speakers and guests at the summit will include:

*Governor Bob Riley

*Mrs. Alma Powell, chair of America's Promise Alliance

*Dr. Joseph B. Morton, State Superintendent of Education

*Dr. Don Williamson, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Public Health

Southern Education Foundation Report

The Southern Education Foundation released a report in February, detailing the Alabama dropout rates. The study showed that in 2007, Alabama had a dropout rate average of around 41 percent, up from 39 percent in 2006.

While that number may seem alarmingly high, a portion of the number can come from students failing one grade but still graduating, just not with their original class. The SEF calculates dropout rates based on No Child Left Behind standards, which define students who graduate in more than four years as non-graduates.

"As long as Alabama doesn't make any progress in reducing the number of kids who don't get high school degrees, it means that when the recession ends, other states will rebound faster and better than Alabama," said Steve Suitts, vice president of the SEF, in an interview with the Birmingham News about the economic impact of Alabama's dropout rate.

Alabama's Best and Worst Performers

Schools in the greater Birmingham area had the lowest dropout rates, including:

*Homewood City Schools: 20.1%

*Hoover City Schools: 19.8%

*Mountain Brook City Schools: 4.7%

*Vestavia Hills City Schools: 9.7%

Schools in Alabama's Blackbelt or other poorer regions tended to have the highest dropout rates, including:

*Tuscaloosa City Schools: 50.4%

*Greene County Schools: 56.6%

*Phenix City Schools: 60.4%

*Bibb County Schools: 55.3%

Researchers attributed many of the variances in school system dropout rates within the state to differences in funding. While the schools in Shelby county, on average, spent well over $10,000 per child in the 2004-2005 school year, the schools in Tuscaloosa county only spent just over $6,700.

To compare more counties and dollar-per-child ratios, see this map.

What parents, teachers, students, and administrators can do

Connie Coleman, counselor at Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa County, has some suggestions to help prevent teens from dropping out in the first place. Many have been implemented at Hillcrest, where there has been a measure of success.

She suggests:

*Early intervention programs, which identify students at risk for dropping out early and meets and counsels them to encourage staying in school.

*Specific courses targeting students who are at risk for dropping out to help them catch up

*Alabama High School Graduation Exam reviews and courses to help students pass the test and graduate on time

*Credit recovery, which helps students recover lost credits, which would prevent them from graduating with their peers

*Technical High Schools, though not in existence, would help those who choose a "straight-to-work" track, where they can still receive a diploma for completing high school.

Keeping up with the rest of the country

With the rest of the country in a recession that Alabama isn't quite feeling as strongly, it may be tougher to hold onto that prosperity with more and more students not finishing high school.

State Superintendent of Education Joe Morton believes that prevention is the best way to keep the dropout rate low, which will lead to harder economic times.

"It takes sustained funding, and right now we are being cut in funding instead of being increased," Morton said in an interview with the Birmingham News. "That's just the economic reality we face."

As dropout rates increase across the country, Alabama is keeping up with the pace. Unfortunately, it's not a race Alabama should win.

To reserve a spot at the Governor's Alabama Dropout Prevention Summit, visit ServeAlabama.gov