Norfolk board discusses ideas to reduce dropout rate

NORFOLK

The division needs to look at "doing things radically differently" to reduce the high dropout rate that is undermining high schools' chances for full accreditation, School Board Chairman Kirk Houston told members Wednesday.

The state considered on-time graduation rates for the first time in accreditation, and the division's 15.7 percent dropout rate was one factor why four of the city's five high schools missed full accreditation. In total, 10 of the division's 45 public schools weren't fully accredited.

"It's time to say to ourselves, we need to do something very different for these kids who aren't being successful, in schools that aren't being successful," board member Stephen Tonelson said.

Houston agreed, saying the division has to be "willing to consider all possible changes."

"We need to be aggressive about our dropouts," Superintendent Richard Bentley said. Possible solutions could include offering students classes at locations other than school campuses, or offering classes at times other than traditional school hours, he said.

The division will likely add a "graduation coach" at each high school to monitor students at risk for dropping out, said Christine Harris, associate superintendent for academics.

The board also speculated on reasons why students drop out. Booker T. Washington High School Principal Kevin Monroe told them he knows of some students who skip school to work.

That work may not be for fun money, Houston said. "Those kids out there are working because they want to eat or keep the lights on in the house," he said.

In other action, the board agreed to form a task force to review the ban on student cellphones on school campuses. That decision came after scores of parents protested in opposition to the ban.

Unlike their peers in other South Hampton Roads divisions, Norfolk students are penalized for having a phone on campus, even if they don't show it or use it.

Lorane Courtlandt said that ban caused her frantic anxiety just this week when her sixth-grade daughter was missing for two hours - stuck on a school bus whose driver didn't know his route. Courtlandt said she had contacted police by the time her daughter arrived home.

"Please consider your policy - our kids need their cellphones," she said.

Other parents agreed that letting students have cellphones for use after school would increase safety.