Suffolk schools work to overcome special-ed dropouts

SUFFOLK

Tranika White wants to be a nurse or a homicide detective. Or maybe an animal control officer.

That choice is still to come, but the Lakeland High School junior is sure of one thing, She plans to earn a diploma.

That would be one step further than some of her peers in Suffolk Public Schools' special education program. State statistics on dropouts released in March revealed that one-third of the special education students who entered ninth grade for the first time in fall 2004 dropped out within four years. That's well above the state rate of 13.5 percent and the highest among all South Hampton Roads school divisions.

"We were concerned," said Sandra Witcher, director of special education. "It did appear to us to be a little bit high. It's definitely an area of concern and has prompted a lot of further digging."

The problem was most pronounced at Lakeland High, where 21 of 41 students with disabilities in the class of 2008 dropped out over four years, according to data submitted to the Virginia Department of Education. Students who transfer to different schools or school districts are not considered dropouts.

Administrators blame some of the numbers on poor record keeping that might have misidentified some students. Counting the students incarcerated at Western Tidewater Regional Jail among Lakeland's ranks also skewed the school's numbers. That will not be done in future years, said Kevin Alston, assistant superintendent for administrative services.

Despite those inconsistencies, school officials don't deny there's a problem. Now, they're trying to find out why.

That starts with "drilling down to individual students and trying to get pretty-detailed profiles on those kids," Witcher said. The special education dropouts were across several disability categories - from mild learning delays to more severe disabilities - and had no particular IQ scores.

"They were mostly males. They were mostly from very transient family lives," Witcher said. "They were living with either their mothers or foster care families, so there really was no evidence of appropriate male role models."

Federal law requires the school division to develop Individualized Education Programs outlining a plan and goals for each child receiving special education services. Suffolk Public Schools, like many school divisions, offers much more.

Three transition specialists - one for each high school - work with special education students from age 14 to 22, the deadline to graduate. Students take vocational evaluations, set specific career goals and figure out what elective courses fit that path. To gain job experience, they're able to work in the cafeteria with a food-handler's license. Two of the high schools also have student-run coffee stands.

Special education students regularly help out at off-campus sites - including Kmart and Lake Prince Woods retirement community - with job coaches.

Tranika, 17, organizes and stocks shelves at Big Lots for a couple hours each week. The teen has learning delays, but her confidence has grown, said Frances White, her mother. Tranika has mentioned applying to work full-time at the discount store to pay for school clothes and senior pictures.

"She wants to learn how to face her own responsibilities," White said.

Antoine Hickman, Suffolk Schools' supervisor of special education, said he's also seen the difference these jobs make. Students feel proud when they learn a new skill. They gain self esteem and a sense of belonging. Together, those factors keep a child in school, he said.

Superintendent Milton Liverman's original 2009-10 budget proposal cut the transition specialist and job coach positions to save money, but they eventually were spared thanks to federal stimulus funds for special education. That safety net might not be available in the future, and Liverman has said the positions could be on the chopping block again.

"Would we eliminate the service? No," Witcher said. "But would it significantly impact the quality and amount of the services that we can provide? I would say definitely."

For now, school division leaders are brainstorming new ways to prevent special education students from dropping out, Witcher said.

"We never give up on a student," said Marie Evans, one of the transition specialists. "I just wish people on the outside looking at these numbers could see that."

Hattie Brown Garrow, (757) 222-5562, hattie.brown@pilotonline.com