Editorial

Lincoln schools looking out for low performers

Jan. 14, 2002 - Academic success in our public schools all to often is focused on the top performers. We love to see how good our SAT scores improve and how many scholarships we can get for our brightest students. So, it is refreshing to find that here in Lincoln County a lot of attention has been focused on low performers who are at a constant risk to drop out of school altogether.

  According to figures released last week by the state Department of Public Instruction, fewer students were dropping out of school in Lincoln County, when compared to the prior year.

During the 2000-2001 school year, Lincoln County’s drop out rate for seventh through 12th grade was 3.58 percent. That is almost one and one-half percentage points below the 1999-2000 school year average of 5.01 percent. Lincoln beat the state average of 3.86 percent for the 2000-2001.Those numbers breakdown to 50 students dropping out at East Lincoln; 83 at Lincolnton and 34 at West Lincoln.

Superintendent Jim Watson said increased awareness, individual counseling and the system’s career pathway plan helped many students stay in school. Under the plan, students began thinking about what they will do after graduation while still in middle school. Watson said the program keeps students focused.

Elaine Jenkins, assistant superintendent of curriculum, praised the staff.

“Our teachers, counselors and administrators have developed programs and procedures to encourage students to stay in school. Our school staffs have worked hard,” Jenkins said.

The figures were especially encouraging because they showed Lincoln County retaining students better than surrounding counties. Gaston County’s dropout rate was 4.49 percent. Cleveland and Catawba reported 3.6 percent.

Statewide, 21,368 students, or 5.7 percent of students in grades nine through 12, quit high school in the 2000-01 school year.

A year ago, there were 23,587 students who quit, or 6.4 percent of the high school students.

North Carolina still has one of the nation’s highest dropout rates, which peaked in 1999, when the number of students quitting school jumped 32 percent statewide though enrollment grew by just 2 percent.

Some educators fear the dropout rate will jump again when the state introduces a tougher exit exam, replacing the competency test, starting with the class of 2005. But we can’t stop raising the standards if we want to catch up with the rest of the nation. What we can do is exactly what Lincoln County Schools did this past year — give all the help we can to those who need it the most.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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