Report: Dropouts still on the rise

It was gradual.

Clayton Pool, 23, started letting his grades slide and skipping school when he was a sophomore at Osawatomie High School.

At first, he was able to catch up by staying at school for an extra hour or doing custodial work.

But eventually, it got to the point he missed one or two days a week and had to attend the district’s alternative school with the goal of graduating with his class in 2004. But he wasn’t allowed to participate in sports or events like prom. It meant school wasn’t fun anymore.

So he quit.

Students like Pool, students who were bored in school or who had trouble transitioning to high school, make up a large number of students who drop out, Ottawa Superintendent Dean Katt said.

The graduation rate in Franklin County has been declining in recent years, according to data released in the annual Kids Count report. The report is compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and looks at various factors that affect children, including education, economic well-being and health.

The report found 87.59 percent of Franklin County youth graduated from high school in 2007, the most recent year data was studied. That’s down from 91.55 percent in 2006, and 93.96 percent in 2005.

The key, Katt said, is for educators and parents to help students as early as possible — even in elementary school.

“It boils down to making things relevent, sparking an interest. We need to show them this is the path to success,” he said.

“That’s what we talk about in the elementary schools. We’re really starting those conversations then and making it relevent at the beginning so they can see the end.”

Pool said teachers, coaches and his mother encouraged him to stay in school and gave him plenty of chances. It really just came down to taking responsibility for his own actions, he said.

“My mom could try and push me as much as she wanted, but I was going to do what I wanted,” he said. “Looking back I can see how it escalated, but it really is so complex.”

Superintendents in the four districts in Franklin County regularly meet to talk about issues like graduation rates, West Franklin Superintendent Dotson Bradbury said. Each of the districts has developed programs to reach students who may need additional help or a different kind of learning environment.

West Franklin, for example, offers summer school, an alternative school in the district and a regional learning center based in Lyndon. The district also began to offer additional coursework for students who struggle with math and reading.

“We call it double-dipping,” Bradbury said of the program.

The Ottawa school district also has programs like a freshman success program, mentoring, alternative schools, the adult education center and Future Visions, among others, in hopes of reaching more students in new ways, Katt said.

“There are so many options out there,” Katt said. “If a kid does drop out, you hope they can do virtual school or something else that fits their needs.”

Pool is one of those students now.

With the support of his mother, he is working on getting his high school diploma through Future Visions, an adult learning center that gives people the opportunity to earn a high school diploma from Ottawa High School.

He’s worked at different programs to get his general education diploma but usually quit after a few weeks.

“I’d get so focused on being behind that I couldn’t move forward,” he said.

He’s embarrassed that he dropped out of school. He watched his friends graduate high school and go on to college. Pool said he hopes that he can finish the program at Future Visions and go to college.

He’s not sure what kind of career he wants, but he recognizes the importance of a diploma. He hopes high school students who are struggling can relate to his story.

“Sometimes I start to think maybe I will do something to help prevent what happened with me,” he said.