Tuesday, March 09, 1999
Dropout rate falls sharply in Cincinnati
Decline is the strongest in a decade
BY DANA DiFILIPPO
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Cincinnati Public Schools' dropout rate fell from 12.3 percent in 1996-97 to 9 percent last year, representing the most significant decline in a decade, district leaders reported at Monday's school board meeting.
Officials weren't sure why they had fewer dropouts. But some principals reported school staffers tried harder to determine why students withdrew and to validate subsequent enrollment in other districts or programs, Associate Superintendent Kathleen Ware said.
About 1,600, or 9 percent of students in grades 7-12, dropped out last year, compared with 2,258 the year before, Ms. Ware said. Those figures do not include students who transferred to other districts or private schools; Ms. Ware said she did not know how many students transferred.
A district study showed:
• Dropout rates were worst in ninth grade, where 531, or 12.4 percent, of stu dents withdrew; and 10th grade, where 339, or 13.2 percent, of students withdrew.
• Withrow High School reported the most dropouts, with 350 students leaving last year. Taft High School followed with 284.
• Poor attendance, students being overage for their grade and unverified enrollment in adult education programs were the most common reasons determining dropout rates.
At Aiken and Western Hills high schools, the most successful in keeping at-risk students in school, principals credited parental involvement and a reform called “teaming” in which groups of students stay with teachers for more than one year.
In other business, school board members heard from several teachers who urged them to avoid cutting teacher training and compensation programs in the district's effort to shave $10 million from its central-services budget.
District officials are considering shrinking several programs, including peer evaluation and mentoring. Officials say the budget cuts are necessary because the district needs money but postponed a vote on a tax increase in May because of public outcry.
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