'WE NEED TO GET BETTER'

When it comes to Watertown High School's graduation rate, consistency is the problem.

A few years after the Watertown City School District did an extensive study, the graduation rate still hovers at 64 percent, one of the lowest among north country schools, according to recently released state data.

"Our completion rate has been startlingly consistent for a long time, and I am not in any way satisfied with that," said Stephen J. Todd, high school principal. "We need to get better faster, and we feel a fierce urgency to do that."

Of the 33 school districts in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties, the graduation rates of 23 districts increased and nine decreased from the 2008-09 school year. The rate at Edwards-Knox Central School, Russell, stayed about the same, according to state Education Department data.

The districts with the lowest graduation rates in the three counties are Norwood-Norfolk, Watertown and Ogdensburg, with 63 percent, 64 percent and 65 percent, respectively. The rates include students who graduated with a Regents or local diploma, through August 2009.

Massena Central School District's numbers are about 15 percent higher than the state Education Department originally reported. State numbers showed that Massena's rate was 61 percent, which would have made it the lowest among districts in the three counties.

But Superintendent Roger B. Clough II disputed that number. Massena's graduation rate was about 76 percent last year, he said, which state officials confirmed Wednesday. The district was going through a technology staffing change when it needed to report its graduation numbers to the state, and the district wasn't able to report the information on time, which accounted for the different numbers.

Norwood-Norfolk Central School officials say they've started having meetings with ninth-graders in an effort to keep them in school.

High School Principal Robin J. Fetter said the district has started a designated period of double English classes. During the second period of the class, teachers work with students who are at risk of dropping out of school.

Ogdensburg City School District officials are looking to raise the graduation rate there, specifically among students with disabilities, Superintendent Timothy M. Vernsey said.

"A high percentage of a school's dropout rates will come from special-education students, and we're working with a consultant to improve graduation rates among students with disabilities," Mr. Vernsey said. "It's always our goal to graduate 100 percent of our students."

The districts with the highest graduation rates are Lyme, Lowville, Copenhagen and Beaver River, with 96 percent, 92 percent, 90 percent and 90 percent, respectively.

Watertown High School's placement earlier this school year on the "schools in need of improvement" list under the No Child Left Behind Act for low English Language Arts test results was a wake-up call, Mr. Todd said. The school has created a team of administrators and teachers to analyze why some of the school's test results aren't up to state standards.

The team is analyzing the graduation rate in addition to the testing scores because the two are connected. High school staff members have identified consistently high absenteeism and poor performance on reading assessments as two of the major red flags that signal a student who is at high risk of not finishing school.

Understanding that connection was important, Mr. Todd said.

"We're asking ourselves, 'How we can keep the kids in school who may not be doing well and are getting discouraged?' There is a big conversation going on about it internally here, and it's priority one," he said.

"There's a variety of reasons why students have dropped out of school, whether it's home life, a pregnancy situation or something else," Mr. Todd said. "There seems to be a different reason for every different student, so there's no way one way to solve the problem. So we need to look at every single thing we do."

The quality review team is examining everything from enriching extracurricular programs and the school day schedule to team building among teachers and extra academic help for students who need it.

The city school district is implementing a credit recovery program at the high school, which allows students who have fallen behind in the number of credits necessary for graduation to make them up. Students can complete online modules similar to their normal class work to get back on track toward on-time graduation.

The district also has implemented a supplementary educational services program, a voluntary, after-school program that allows students to receive extra help. Teachers use iPod touch devices as learning tools.

"We are certainly concerned and want to see a higher graduation rate," District Superintendent Terry N. Fralick said. "We're trying to come up with creative ideas that will help students stay in school."

The graduation rates for the rest of the state can be found at the state Education Department Web site.

Johnson Newspapers staff writers Benny Fairchild and Bob Beckstead contributed to this report.

ON THE NET

State Education Department: www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/cohort/2009/200708TotalCohort-School-AllStudents.pdf

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BY THE NUMBERS

The average high school graduation rates in both Jefferson and Lewis counties were up from last year. St. Lawrence County's average stayed the same.

Average 2009 rates:

/ 83 percent for Jefferson County

/ 84.6 percent for Lewis County

/ 76 percent for St. Lawrence County

/ State average: 74 percent