News 88.9 KNPR's State of Nevada -- Education Series Pt 2. How Do We Fix Dropout Rates

Sign up for SON First!

SPECIALS




	Fronteras Vote

	Latino Ed Gap

	Fronteras


UPCOMING DISCUSSIONS



	Election Commission Fines Ensign And Angle

	Open All Night: Online Poker And Problem Gambling


RECENT DISCUSSIONS



	What's On Your Mind?

	Rep. Joe Heck On Search And Rescue

	Billiards Boss: A Professional Pool Player Discusses The Game

	That's The Ticket: Lawmakers Want To Strengthen Tax On Entertainment

	Heller Lobbies To Strip IRS Of Obamacare Duties

	The Future Of Firefly

	11 Million Immigrants: What's In A Number?

	Jury Awards Suen $70 Million In Sands Case

	Growing Up Oz

	Las Vegas Ozone Fail

	Too Hot To Handle: Weapons Grade Nuclear Waste In A Nevada Landfill?

	Rent To Own Your Own House

	The Republicans Respond To The Democrats' Tax Plan

	Red Rock Search And Rescue: Finding Keith Goldberg

	Firefly Patrons Sue After Salmonella Outbreak

	PEPCON Remembered

	Nevada Democrats Push Payroll Tax To Fund Education

	Film Tax Credits - Good For Nevada?

Education Series Pt 2. How Do We Fix Dropout Rates

AIR DATE: August 4, 2011

LISTEN TO M3U | DOWNLOAD MP3

The Clark County School District continues to linger at the bottom nationally when it comes to graduation and dropouts rates. Why? And how can we turn it around? We'll look at a national effort to raise graduation rates. We'll also look at schools that have turned around failing schools and drop-out factories into successful models.

GUESTS

Robert Balfanz, Research Scientist, Johns Hopkins University

Jeff Horn, Principal, Green Valley High School

Dr. Allen Bourff, Superintendent, Richmond Community Schools

LINKS

Education Series Pt 2. How Do We Fix Dropout Rates

LATEST COMMENTS

In addition to working for the CCSD, I also ...
-Robert Burkhart

Most kids enter the school system with ...
-Robert Burkhartrl

No one really talks about the real reason our ...
-blade

Join the Conversation

COMMENTS:

In addition to working for the CCSD, I also tutor (on the side) Parents who pay for extra tutoring expect results and they get them. The kids I tutor quickly master their times tables, we use flash cards and other rote methods the same methods that the CCSD refuse to consider. I've voiced my complaints -- no one is listening.

Robert Burkhart –Aug 5, 2011 09:49:20 AM

Respond to this comment

Most kids enter the school system with optimism. Sadly, the CCSD does little to keep those hopes alive. I've worked in the CCSD, as a guest (substitute) teacher, for over six years. When classroom sizes (3rd grade and below) were regulated it was not uncommon to find a 3rd grade class of 18 students, a few weeks from the end of term, with only one or two students having mastered their multiplication tables. If you fail the children at that level there is little hope of their recovery. If you don't master this skill set by the end of 3rd grade in a class of 18 students there is little hope that you will master this skill set by the end of 4th grade in a class of 38 students. These are the kids who, 7 years later, have insufficient credits to pass and drop out. Schools should encourage success but many teachers strictly apply rules that dictate failure. Children should be encouraged to turn in all assignments applying penalties for late work (lower the maximum grade a late assignment can receive) makes sense but deciding that all late work can only receive 50% credit means that all work turned in late will receive an F (continued)

Robert Burkhartrl –Aug 5, 2011 09:47:00 AM

Respond to this comment

No one really talks about the real reason our schools are failing...life outside the classroom

blade –Aug 4, 2011 19:23:30 PM

Respond to this comment

Our kids could benefit from logistical changes. Many counties have home room k-12. Students have their OWN desk, locker etc in the room. They only change class rooms for labs, PE etc. The HR teacher does a lot of the classes but the rest of the day the teachers which specialize in a particual subjects push a cart with their lesson plans and personal items on it. End of having to worry about kids ditching, being late or sneaking off to smoke or get high. One student told me in his HS you could only walk in one direction. He was confounded by the stupidity of it because one of his classes was one door number behind the class he was in and was required to walk around the entire school instead of going back a few steps. Think of the extra achedemic time the kids would have if they didn't have to travel. I can give you dozens of ideas like this but I'll not waste my time on ego's. I wrote a politician and lined out in detail some good things other countries did. I didn't waste time on the negitives which was a big mistake. Even Pres. Obama was not provided with accurate info when he made a statement re a country I referenced. They legally beat and torture the kids for any reason. Korea

Karen King –Aug 4, 2011 10:28:25 AM

Respond to this comment

I am a teacher at an at-risk middle school here in the valley. I think that one of the primary problems with drop-outs in high school is that some kids leave middle school without the skills they need to succeed in high school. As I see it, the primary reason for that is that the kids in this district need only one passing grade (a D) for only one semester of English OR Reading and one semester with a passing grade in Math to go on to the next grade. In other words, a child in this district could pass one semester of Reading with a D, have F's in both semesters of English, have a D in math one semester, have failed the other semester and failed all his other subjects and still move on. Is it any wonder that they don't have the skills to go on in high school? It drives the teachers crazy.

Maggie Mooha –Aug 4, 2011 09:47:11 AM

Respond to this comment

Couldn't agree more! Some students hit the wall in high school after failing the proficiency exams because they were socially promoted their entire academic career.

Michelle –Aug 4, 2011 09:54:48 AM

Thank you for being honest. Teachers have more influence than most people know. From the time I was in Elementary school I used to draw a lot and did embroidery by hand. By HS I could finish an entire pair of jeans in one day. My drawings were always of characters I knew. In 1971 I was in the 9th grade at Valley HS. During a conversation I told my Art teacher I was going to be a commercial artist. He said no you won't, you are not an artist and you don't have any talent. It was 20 years before I picked up a pencil or brush again and now at 53 I'm applying to several universities to major in Art Studio/Art Education. Maggie is right. Even if the teachers have to read books aloud at any grade or work 50 problems on the board we have to do something. Some kids are too ashamed to ask for help and the parents need to turn off the TV and get off the phone and do their children's homework and reading WITH them. If they can't then THEY should ask for help. The school dist. could begin by offering Home Work help classes to the families. We also need to get our kids CHEAP books so they can write in them and keep them. They do that in Asia. Every ESL student of mine referred to older books.

Karen King –Aug 4, 2011 10:48:33 AM

I think a big part of CCSD's problem is a lack of leadership fron principals and not enough shared-decision making that involves all staff, families, and students. I think principals at at-risk schools need to be watched more closely to ensure that they are really following the action steps on their school improvement plans. This means academic managers need to be in schools observing principals. Good leadership makes all the difference in turning a school around.

anonymous –Aug 4, 2011 09:44:01 AM

Respond to this comment

I am a product of the Clark County School District and I am a teacher at the High School that I graduated from. The first things to realize about our failing numbers is how they are calculated; we are trying to track students from 9th grade through graduation. I have an average of at least 3 students a month enter or exit my classes from other schools. There are a number of students that leave our schools without formally withdrawing, they are added to our dropout rate whether or not they continue their education elsewhere because schools may not have the manpower to track them down, especially if they have left the country. The rate at which students move from school to school, even within the valley, makes it difficult to connect with the students and ensure the continuity of their education. As a teacher I have received numerous hours of training to help me try to reach and engage students, however when they move every few months and know that little if anything they do in one school will follow them to the next it makes it difficult.

Janelle Klein –Aug 4, 2011 09:42:22 AM

Respond to this comment

The drop out rate is really an easy fix that no one wants to try. We have an exit exam that is essentially a college entrance exam and offer no real vocational training for students who don't have a good GPA. Most of the programs at our Career and Technical Academies are for college bound students, so there is little incentive for struggling students to stay in school.

Karl Gustafson –Aug 4, 2011 09:23:03 AM

Respond to this comment

You are correct. I don't know how it is now but in England you had 2 choices at the end of the 10th grade. If you wanted to go to college you stayed in. If you wanted to go into a vocation like auto mechanics, hospitality service or what ever then you took the HS exam. There is no shame in doing what you want to do. If your 11-12th graders are there because they want to be there you omit a lot of problems.

Karen King –Aug 4, 2011 10:33:47 AM

- I teach high school - I am taking a course this summer on effective classrooms - 2 of the 6 classes were created by Clifton Taulbert (million man march) - Overall message is that student and school success relies on parent and community involvement - Yet when I attempt to call home many times I cannot reach a parent or get a disconnected phone number

Michelle –Aug 4, 2011 09:20:47 AM

Respond to this comment

08/04/11 RUNDOWN


	Education Series Pt 2. How Do We Fix Dropout Rates


	The Dispute over First Friday


	Don Arden's Jubilee Celebrates 30 years

RELATED ITEMS

	America's Dropout Crisis


NEWS 88.9 KNPR All Programs KNPR's State of Nevada Morning Edition All Things Considered Marketplace Fresh Air The Story Desert Bloom Nevada Yesterdays	CLASSICAL 89.7 Classical Playlist Classical Schedule Performance Today SymphonyCast Sunday Baroque Hearts of Space Pipedreams HD RADIO KNPR HD3 Alt. News KCNV HD2 Jazz	SUPPORT Donate Vehicle Donation Corporate Support Planned Giving Membership LISTEN Listen Live Podcasts Station Locator	FAQ Radio Reading Service EEO Public File The Public and Broadcasting Privacy Policy Mailing List Policy Prize Giveaway Guidelines Employment	ARCHIVES Along the Way Commentaries Desert Bloom Food for Thought Nevada Yesterdays Nevada Variations The Las Vegas I Remember 24-Hour Show	CONNECT Contact Community Connections Enews TWITTER @889KNPR @KNPRnews @Desert Companion FACEBOOK Nevada Public Radio Desert Companion