SBCSS News and Press Releases

County Superintendent Thomas Comments On Release Of Dropout Data

2009-05-12

SAN BERNARDINO - San Bernardino County Superintendent Gary Thomas issued the following statement concerning the release today of statewide dropout data from the California Department of Education (CDE):

"While the bottom line for our county is that we showed improvement in terms of a decrease in the number of dropouts for Grades 9-12 in comparison to data released a year ago, the current countywide dropout rates we continue to see are simply unacceptable.

"Our county's adjusted four-year derived dropout rate of 25.4 percent is well above the statewide rate of 20.1 percent. We see the same trends in the one-year rates with the county figure of 6.7 percent greater than the state rate of 5.1 percent. While our county dropout rate improved nearly 1 percent from the data released by the CDE a year ago, our schools and districts face the challenge of keeping more of their students engaged in the classroom and following a path that will lead to graduation.

"In this year's data, there were improvements in the dropout rates for Hispanic and White students, compared to last year's figures, but African American students countywide stayed at the same alarmingly high dropout rate. Looking closer at the countywide data, there remains a persistent and troubling achievement gap that needs to be addressed.

"This is the second year the state has used its California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, or CALPADS, to more accurately reflect what's taking place in our schools. We know that schools are better able to monitor the reasons why students may be leaving their schools because of the ability to now track them with their Statewide Student Identifiers. Schools and districts can tailor their programs to address those trends and see that more students complete their high school graduations.

"Our office is committed to providing services and programs to districts and school sites that can help them address the issue of dropouts. This year, our Education Support Services Division (ESS) has scheduled 10 professional development workshops that deal with dropout prevention. Those topics range from research-based teaching strategies to incorporating cross-curricular development of project-based learning. In addition, ESS also has provided trainings to pinpoint ways to increase graduation rates countywide from its Algebra Institutes to preparations for passing the California High School Exit Exam.

"It also is important to note that specific programs offered through our P-16 Councils, Alliance For Education, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), Small Learning Communities and Regional Occupational Programs (ROP) all address the issue of providing relevance to our students' education with the rigor of meeting our state's world-class standards. When students experience relevance in the learning environment to the world in which they live, they become more engaged in their education and are more likely to graduate from high school prepared for college or careers.

"In our global economy, it is paramount that students have more educational opportunities, not less. The Public Policy Institute of California just issued a report that said our state faces a shortage of 1 million college graduates over the next 15 years. The problem is not that we don't have the number of students to meet that demand - the issue is that more of our high school students have to be better prepared to meet those challenges.

"Schools cannot accomplish this alone. We need parents to make sure their children are attending school every day, except when they are home sick. We need communities to support their schools. We need to strengthen partnerships with business, labor, government, community and faith-based organizations so that they can show students the relevance of having a quality education. As educators, we have to work harder with every student at all levels in our schools and districts from preschool through high school. Reversing the high dropout rates in our county and state needs to top our agenda for the economic viability of this region. Otherwise without a better prepared and better educated workforce, our society will suffer the consequences."