Elisabeth Hulette
Steven G. Vegh
The Virginian-Pilot
©
Portsmouth schools have the worst graduation rate in Virginia.
The division came close to that distinction last year, when 63.4 percent of its seniors graduated on time. Now, even though the Class of 2010 posted a rate of 67.4 percent, the division has fallen to the bottom.
"It's a serious problem, and it's not an easy problem to solve," said David Stuckwisch, superintendent of Portsmouth schools. "I have to focus on where we're going this year and next year, and where we'll be three, four and five years from now."
The graduation rates show the percentage of students who started high school in 2006 and received a state diploma within four years.
Students are tracked through high school using identification numbers, and the graduation rate is adjusted for those who transfer in and out and those who are allowed more than four years to complete high school, such as special education students and those still learning English.
Statewide, the rate has improved only slightly over the past three years, from 82.1 percent in 2008 to 85.5 percent for the Class of 2010.
Schools in Hampton Roads likewise showed slight gains. Of the five divisions, only Chesapeake beat the state graduation rate with 88.4 percent. Chesapeake also posted the lowest dropout rate of the five cities, and three of its schools had the highest graduation rates of any in the area.
Patricia Powers, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said Chesapeake is identifying early the students who are at risk for dropping out, in part by tracking attendance. Then the schools try to get them hooked up with mentors or after-school activities.
Both Chesapeake and Norfolk have dropout prevention teams, and Norfolk officials are striking agreements with students who have five or more absences, according to a news release. School personnel in Norfolk also visit dropouts at home.
In Suffolk, officials credited rising graduation rates to better record-keeping and special after-school classes that allowed students to earn academic credit and catch up to their peers.
Spokeswoman Bethanne Bradshaw said Suffolk has added a truancy and dropout prevention program in which juvenile court judges are likely to target parents who don't compel their children to attend school, as required by the state's mandatory attendance law.
In Portsmouth, where the graduation rate rose by 4 percentage points, Stuckwisch gave credit to the reduction of required elective credits and to the guidance staff members for improving their student tracking.
The division has made other changes, such as adding freshman orientations and separating repeating ninth-graders from first-time ninth-graders, but Stuckwisch said he expects the impact of such changes won't be realized for a few years.
In Virginia Beach, where graduation rates remained high but dropout rates rose slightly, Assistant Superintendent Jobynia Caldwell said school officials are closely watching those numbers.
"When it comes to the dropout rate, you have to look at each child and not just the statistic," she said.
Elisabeth Hulette, (757) 222-5216, elisabeth.hulette@pilotonline.com
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Portsmouth Graduation Rate
One thing I never see mentioned is that Portsmouth has had the HIGHEST requrement for graduation in the Tidewater area and students had to pass all core stubjects. In another local school system, students can graduate with a 0.75 average.
I applaud Portsmouth Public Schools for having had the courage to require its students to have at least a 2.0 in order to graduate. Too bad the requirement has dropped in order to be in line with other school systems in the area.
How great it would be to see all the surrounding school systems implement stricter requirements than to have Portsmouth lower theirs.
No easy one fix solution
First of all the complexities of why children fail are dropout of high school are numerous. I’m sure a lot of the reactionaries on this board love to speak in generalities and find one blame but life seldom operates like that. I would agree the most single important factor in the success of a child would be having a stable, loving, home with both parents who are actively involved in their child’s education. A teacher can only do so much if a child is coming from a broken home.
But wait!
Didn't one of our High Schools win the National Hoodie Award? Doesn't that count for something?
Ok, so I'm being a bit sarcastic.
To tell you the truth, none of this surprises me in the least. Portsmouth has had a school system which has suffered because the people in power weild their offices as weapons against each other. The stance taken by most of these elected officials is of the opinion that Teachers are basically Babysitters and those babysitters are hamstrung by the parents of the children who refuse to act properly in classes and show respect to the teachers. It is no wonder that most kids don't graduate when they aren't even being taught anything but a SOL test.
ways to improve Portsmouth schools
One of the commenters mentioned 30+ kids in classrooms as one of the reasons Portsmouth schools are failing children. The public schools are top-heavy with administrative staff, but if the city council tries to reduce their budget the schools will first eliminate teachers to force to have the budget restored. One of the first positions that should be eliminated is the "homeschool liason". This person's sole job seems to harass parents who have taken the ultimate resonsibility to educate their children (talk about parental involvement). Homeschoolers in Portsmouth should be commended for reducing class size and the need for the city to spend more money on education. If you walked through the Portsmouth School administration building you would likely find that 50% of the staff is redundant.
what are we going to do
I guess the bottom line is that we can point fingers, and say its this person fault and that person should have done thus and so... the BOTTOM line is, Portsmouth needs help.. Education is the KEY and the WAY out of this situation we are in... We all have to pitch in.. Instead of saying how much that is Bad in portsmouth, Roll up your Dam Sleeves and Help us.. I am doing my Part with A Non profit Organization, but it take ALL of us, TO DEFEAT this monster.
Yes Portsmouth has the crime, the high drop out rates, the ghettos, and all that.. but like what was said earlier there is some good in portsmouth. The Real question is; what are YOU going to do? Instead of post comments about how much Portsmouth is the pit, write some grants to help get this kids out of the pits and back on the PATH TO SUCCESS.
We all can make a difference.... GO OUT AND HELP SOMEBODY
Mykahl123
VERY well said!
Drastic change needed
We all know what the truth is. Too many kids making babies. Too many children NOT being raised by mature adults with jobs. Too much welfare. Too much of that thug, criminal culture. Instead of all this pro-life jazz we should adopt a pro-abortion policy. Why should I pay for your kid, some future inmate? What good do these people do for our society? None. We don't need them.
The race argument is useless
The race argument has little validity when arguing the point of lack of funding equals higher drop out rate.....
See: http://hamptonroads.com/2008/10/data-high-school-graduation-dropout-rates-2010#comment-995598
Now, Look through 4 or 5 random schools, pay attention to ASIANS. Asians, regardless of the school they attend, have close to 100% graduation rate.
This is a cultural problem not a money problem. I admire the way Asians raise their kids. We could all learn an aweful lot from our Asian friends!
schools
It's sad to say but there is enough blame to pass around. The Bush administration allowed No Child Left Behind which was the worst mistake that could have been. Secondly, this Sol bs that the state has adopted is a very stupid waste of time period. You can pass all your classs and have a 4.0 and you still mght not graduate from high school. Senseless to say the least. These types of test should be taken at the statr of the year as we did in Michigan and then students knew what they had to work on to get to where they needed to be. Va is just backwards and it shows in graduation rates across the board. Yes, Portsmouth has a massive hurdle to overcome as there is NO industry here and higher taxes then anyother city in Hampton Roads. I will agree with some comments in terms of parents not doing their part as being parents do mentor their children towards success rather then failure. Income in Portsmouth is well below the national average and will more then likely to remain this way for a long time to come. There is not only a divide between those that run the city but also one that remains between BLACKS and WHITES, not only in Portsmouth, but across Hampton Roads and the nation. Will
Portsmouth
The City of Portsmouth has some great people in it, and some of the hardest working teachers and students I've ever seen. Like some of the other posters said, this issue can't be reduced to a single cause. I think that part of the problem is that education across the board has become more of a business than anything else. Since the "clients" are the parents of these students (and their tax dollars keep the doors open), it is in the best interest of any school system to create an environment where most (if not all) of the students in a population walk across the stage at the end of their 12th grade year. Teachers do what they are told to do, so if that means teaching to a test, so be it. If it means eliminating zeroes from the grade book, so be it. If it means ignoring attendance/ behavior violations, so be it. This system does push a lot of kids across the stage in their senior year, but it also teaches the bright kids that they shouldn't have to work very hard to be at the top. I know it doesn't happen in EVERY case, but it happens enough to keep America's kids behind the rest of the developed world, and that is not a pretty picture. I don't know what the perfect solution is, but