By Mark Boshnack
Staff Writer
Graduation rates for area schools were generally higher than the state average, according to the state Education Department.
"The results show modest improvement overall," said state Education Commissioner David Steiner in a media release. More needs to be done to meet the challenges of the future, he added.
Area superintendents said they are taking steps to continue to help students succeed. Several talked about how they saw the numbers, particularly for the group of students that entered ninth grade in 2005 and graduated by August 2009.
Statewide, almost 72 percent of the students who started ninth grade in 2005 had graduated after four years, by June 2009, the state Education
Department media release said.
This is compared with a 66 percent graduation rate for students who started ninth grade in 2001.
The graduation rate for August 2009 was more than 74 percent, the release said, and a fifth year of high school makes a difference for many students.
Statewide, among students who started ninth grade in 2004, 77 percent had graduated by 2009.
"We are constantly looking at our programs and analyzing what we need to do to increase the success rate of our students," Sidney Central School Superintendent Sandra Cooper said.
For some students, this means taking longer than the traditional four years, she said.
The school also needs to do a better job keeping students in school and making them want to graduate, she said, and to help with that, the district held two staff development workshops within the past year.
Cooper said a program in June called "Capturing Kids Hearts" identified strategies to help students build connections that may help keep them in school.
In September, 50 teachers and administrators participated in a workshop designed to keep students engaged, she said. Professional development gives staff "the tools
to improve their success rate," Cooper said. "We will continue to try to identify what we need to do to keep kids in school."
The rates at Walton Central School continue to be constant, Superintendent Thomas Austin said.
It's more important to have students graduate than to be concerned about whether it takes more than four years, he said. If there are reasons to spend more time in high school, that shouldn't be held against students, he said.
According to Austin, the district is "focusing on what needs to done to get (students) to graduate."
To reach some of those students who might have otherwise dropped through the cracks, the high school recently started a "school within a school," which is helping a group of five students "make the connections and be successful, " Austin said. It appears to be successful, though he was not sure about its future because of the current budget problems all schools are facing, he said.
The actual graduation rate at Afton Central School was a few points higher than was indicated in the recent report, Superintendent Elizabeth Briggs said. Even though a few students can skew the statistics, the district is taking steps to improve the rates, she said.
Briggs said this includes a mentoring program that will use volunteer staff to work with students.
One of the concerns is making sure that students connect with someone so they feel it is important to finish their studies, she said.
At Bainbridge-Guilford Central School, Superintendent Karl Brown said, "You can't reach everyone," but the district is always looking for ways to keep students in school and improve the rates.
The local Board of Cooperative Educational Services has also provided some programs that have been helpful, he said.
The alternative education program works with students who fall behind early on, Brown said. For others who need the hands-on-approach, there are also career and technical education classes.
In the district, to help students see where studies can lead, the school recently started a class called "life after high school," so students will have a better idea of what their futures can be, he said.
