I find myself somewhat perplexed after reading the June 19 article about local high school graduation rates. Watertown High School officials were shocked and unsettled by the 40 percent dropout rate at their school and were skeptical that the statistics weren’t skewed by children of military families switching schools.

Yet no such skepticism was expressed in the August 12, 2008, article, “Graduation Rate Shows Progress.” Instead, it expressed optimism over the fact that Watertown High School’s rate had recently increased from 50 percent to 60 percent.

In 2008, my husband and I had just moved to the area, and we saved the article because of how appalled we were by the statistics. The prospect of raising and educating our future children here seemed downright scary.

Why did it take four years for school officials to suspect military children were influencing the statistics? The earlier 50 percent graduation rate didn’t make them skeptical, yet the 60 percent rate did? As the June 21 article stated, Indian River schools enroll an even greater number of military children than Watertown. Yet Indian River’s graduation rates are consistently at or above 70 percent.

Sadly, the truth of the matter is, that Watertown’s dropout rate is a reflection of its welfare-based culture. My husband recently heard of a survey given to area teenagers that asked them to articulate their future aspirations. An alarming majority said their goal was to work seasonally during the summer and then collect unemployment the other seven to eight months of the year. A high school diploma is hardly necessary to achieve such lofty goals.

School officials need to pull their heads out of the sand and face reality. Students’ attitudes are what need adjusting, not statistical recordkeeping. When that is acknowledged, two out of five children might not end up dropping out.

Julie Cook

Watertown

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer