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On Our Schools

Two sides to statistics coin

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
Published December 29, 2006

If you're into comparisons, Hillsborough County came out looking pretty good in the state's recent release of high school graduation and dropout rates.

The county bested the state averages in all areas, outperforming the other major districts Broward, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach and Pinellas in just about every category and subcategory.

Great.

But look within the county, and you find some schools that don't stack up. Not against other Hillsborough high schools, and not against the other counties Hillsborough likes to compare itself with.

East Bay High in Gibsonton, for instance, had a 4.5 percent dropout rate, compared to the district average of 2.1 percent. Leto High in Town 'N Country had a rate of 3.1 percent and Middleton, in east Tampa, wasn't far behind at 2.8 percent. What do these schools have in common? High concentrations of poverty, for one thing. Socioeconomic status often is considered a key indicator of whether a child will succeed in school.

That might help explain why schools like Sickles in Citrus Park, and Bloomingdale in Riverview, have rates of less than 1 percent. But how to explain a place like Robinson High, near MacDill Air Force Base, which had a dropout rate of 0.5 percent too?

It has a lot to do with leadership and the culture of commitment, something Robinson has achieved and, much to the lament of school district leaders, some of these other schools have not.

Students might come from tough backgrounds, but, as School Board member Candy Olson says, "you can't use that as an excuse."

"A lot of our schools have reached the point of the culture that you're going to do well no matter what," Olson says. "But we haven't reached all the schools yet."

To help students who don't perform well in a mainstream high school, the district not too long ago created career centers. "Hopefully," board chairman Jack Lamb says, these teens can "turn around and get through high school."

The career center's dropout rates don't inspire, though. Faring the best was Simmons, at 5.5 percent. Others were in double digits: Bowers-Whitley, 10 percent; South County, 14.2 percent; and Waters, 17.3 percent.

Is this good news, because more than 80 percent of teens likely to have dropped out of regular high school finished? Or bad news because so many left?

"You may want to get everyone, but you recognize the reality of their lives," Olson says. "Some of them come back when they're 20 or 25."

In many ways, it becomes a question of who's responsible for getting a teen to finish school: the school, the parents, the teen or all working together. It certainly can't be the schools working alone.

Still, board members say they'll be talking with superintendent MaryEllen Elia about how they can do even more to keep students in school, particularly at the most troubled schools. No one claims to have all the answers. But they're looking.

With the stated goal of eliminating the achievement gap between the races, the district has some clear direction.

The state also reports that just 1.5 percent of white students dropped out, and 84.9 percent graduated within four years. Asian students graduated at a 90.1 percent rate, with just 0.6 percent dropping out. And 82.8 percent of multiracial students graduated in four years, while just 1.8 percent dropped out.

Black students, by comparison, had a 3.1 percent dropout rate and a 65.2 percent graduation rate. Hispanic students had a 2.6 percent dropout rate and a 71.1 percent graduation rate.

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Interested magnet schools?

All the Hillsborough elementary and middle magnet schools will have an open house 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, for you to get a closer look. Teachers and administrators will be around to talk about programs and answer any questions you might have.

More information is available on the school district's Web site, www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/choice, where you also can get applications. The deadline is Jan. 26.

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Congratulations to Sarah Clark, Thomas Desmond, James Fleming, Charlynn Knighton and Ryan Steiner. The Newsome High School choir members will perform in the Tournament of Roses parade with 95 other students chosen across the country as part of the National Anthem Project. The group, started in 2005, aims to ensure that all Americans know the words to the National Anthem. Look for the Newsome teens on the "Natural Harmonies, Oh Say Can You Sing" float, which features a bald eagle carrying two American flags in its talons.

Have opinions about this column, or ideas for future ones? Contact Jeffrey S. Solochek at solochek@sptimes.com or (813) 269-5304.

[Last modified December 28, 2006, 11:22:48]