Dropout and graduation rates in Lincoln County analyzed

High school dropout and graduation rates in Lincoln County are being compared as heads of education send their most recent numbers to the state for analysis.

While Lincoln County has had a higher graduation rate than the Montana average since 2009, administrators are still keeping an eye on dropout rates, which are considered to be a one-year “snapshot” of graduation rates.

Graduation rates – which have risen statewide in the last five years –  count students who complete a district’s graduation requirements in four years or less from the time a student is in the 9th grade. Dropout rates count students who were enrolled in school on the date of the previous year’s October enrollment count or at some time during the previous school year and were not enrolled on the date of the current school year October count.

Because graduating classes are becoming smaller in Lincoln County, it can mean that dropout rates fluctuate dramatically from year to year, Lincoln County educators said.

In the 2011-12 school year, the dropout rate for Libby High School was 1.8, but went to 4.5 percent in 2012-13. The dropout rate in Troy also rose from 2.1 percent in 2011-12 to 3.7 percent in 2012-13. However the dropout rate at Lincoln County High School in Eureka went the other direction, going from 4.1 percent in 2011-12 down to 1.6 in 2012-13.

This was in contrast to a county graduation rate that had climbed from the low 80s up to the 90s by 2012.

The goal for every school is to keep that number from sinking back down.

Libby High School assistant principal Jim Germany said the 2013-14 dropout rate “could be a scary sight” when the numbers come out at the beginning of next year.

 “This year’s class is going to be interesting,” Germany said. “Sometimes kids go through rough times, rough patches, but even if you just struggle with school we can intervene. We have a safety net built in for struggling. You have to work pretty hard not to graduate.”

Germany said Lincoln County was working with a population that was in transition.

“There’s a huge turnover in our population. Any kid that moves into our district, they become part of our data,” Germany said. “The frustrating part is that they can be here for a month and then move to another area. If they don’t enroll in another school, it is on us.”

Troy High School Principal Jacob Francom said dropout rates from year to year could show high levels of volatility because class sizes have become smaller.

“There are a myriad of different reasons (students drop out),” Francom said.

Like Libby, Troy was an area that students moved in and out of – partly because parents had found and then lost employment. Sometimes it was a child of divorced parents trying out a temporary living situation with one parent, only to decide it wasn’t working out and then moved back in with the other parent, Francom said.

Denise Juneau, superintendent Montana Office of Public Instruction, said Lincoln County had a high poverty level and a lack of employment, but education staff were doing a good job with the resources they had.

“Seeing what those schools are producing is inspiring, “ Juneau said. Both the dropout rate and the graduation rate were numbers that were important to look at when schools were examining how efforts to graduate students were working, she said.

Since Montana had adopted a longitudinal data system in the last few years, it was easier to track the transfer of students from one school to another. That means future data is expected to be more accurate, Juneau said.

Graduation Matters Montana, in which Lincoln County participated, was working because it was flexible to each county, Juneau said.

“It’s done at a grassroots level,” Juneau said. “It works because it is locally designed and locally implemented - it is not one size fits all. It is about making sure that diploma means something to that student and that they are ready for the next stage in their life.”

Schools with students who graduate after the age of 18 do not receive funding by the state for those students, Juneau said. Libby has had a fair share of graduates who were 19 years old. 

Juneau was pushing a bill that would give funding to high schools that were keeping high school students on for an extra year so they could graduate.

Juneau is also bringing back another bill that would raise the legal age a student could leave school, from 16 to 18.

However, Lincoln County High School Principal Joel Graves said he wasn’t sure that would make a difference because students could just opt to be homeschooled without there being any follow-through.

“Most of the students who do (drop out), do so because their parents don’t support education,” Graves said.

Since the launch of the Graduation Matters Montana in 2009, Montana’s high school dropout rate has decreased from 5 percent to 3.6 percent in 2013. During the same period, the statewide graduation rate has increased from 80.7 percent to 84.4 percent.

High school dropout and graduation rates in Lincoln County are being compared as heads of education send their most recent numbers to the state for analysis.

While Lincoln County has had a higher graduation rate than the Montana average since 2009, administrators are still keeping an eye on dropout rates, which are considered to be a one-year “snapshot” of graduation rates.

Graduation rates – which have risen statewide in the last five years –  count students who complete a district’s graduation requirements in four years or less from the time a student is in the 9th grade. Dropout rates count students who were enrolled in school on the date of the previous year’s October enrollment count or at some time during the previous school year and were not enrolled on the date of the current school year October count.

Because graduating classes are becoming smaller in Lincoln County, it can mean that dropout rates fluctuate dramatically from year to year, Lincoln County educators said.

In the 2011-12 school year, the dropout rate for Libby High School was 1.8, but went to 4.5 percent in 2012-13. The dropout rate in Troy also rose from 2.1 percent in 2011-12 to 3.7 percent in 2012-13. However the dropout rate at Lincoln County High School in Eureka went the other direction, going from 4.1 percent in 2011-12 down to 1.6 in 2012-13.

This was in contrast to a county graduation rate that had climbed from the low 80s up to the 90s by 2012.

The goal for every school is to keep that number from sinking back down.

Libby High School assistant principal Jim Germany said the 2013-14 dropout rate “could be a scary sight” when the numbers come out at the beginning of next year.

 “This year’s class is going to be interesting,” Germany said. “Sometimes kids go through rough times, rough patches, but even if you just struggle with school we can intervene. We have a safety net built in for struggling. You have to work pretty hard not to graduate.”

Germany said Lincoln County was working with a population that was in transition.

“There’s a huge turnover in our population. Any kid that moves into our district, they become part of our data,” Germany said. “The frustrating part is that they can be here for a month and then move to another area. If they don’t enroll in another school, it is on us.”

Troy High School Principal Jacob Francom said dropout rates from year to year could show high levels of volatility because class sizes have become smaller.

“There are a myriad of different reasons (students drop out),” Francom said.

Like Libby, Troy was an area that students moved in and out of – partly because parents had found and then lost employment. Sometimes it was a child of divorced parents trying out a temporary living situation with one parent, only to decide it wasn’t working out and then moved back in with the other parent, Francom said.

Denise Juneau, superintendent Montana Office of Public Instruction, said Lincoln County had a high poverty level and a lack of employment, but education staff were doing a good job with the resources they had.

“Seeing what those schools are producing is inspiring, “ Juneau said. Both the dropout rate and the graduation rate were numbers that were important to look at when schools were examining how efforts to graduate students were working, she said.

Since Montana had adopted a longitudinal data system in the last few years, it was easier to track the transfer of students from one school to another. That means future data is expected to be more accurate, Juneau said.

Graduation Matters Montana, in which Lincoln County participated, was working because it was flexible to each county, Juneau said.

“It’s done at a grassroots level,” Juneau said. “It works because it is locally designed and locally implemented - it is not one size fits all. It is about making sure that diploma means something to that student and that they are ready for the next stage in their life.”

Schools with students who graduate after the age of 18 do not receive funding by the state for those students, Juneau said. Libby has had a fair share of graduates who were 19 years old. 

Juneau was pushing a bill that would give funding to high schools that were keeping high school students on for an extra year so they could graduate.

Juneau is also bringing back another bill that would raise the legal age a student could leave school, from 16 to 18.

However, Lincoln County High School Principal Joel Graves said he wasn’t sure that would make a difference because students could just opt to be homeschooled without there being any follow-through.

“Most of the students who do (drop out), do so because their parents don’t support education,” Graves said.

Since the launch of the Graduation Matters Montana in 2009, Montana’s high school dropout rate has decreased from 5 percent to 3.6 percent in 2013. During the same period, the statewide graduation rate has increased from 80.7 percent to 84.4 percent.