Most Washtenaw County school districts see graduation rates decline in 2009
Chelsea High School English teacher Dawn Putnam chats with student between classes at the school on Thursday afternoon. Chelsea High School has one of the highest graduation rates in Washtenaw County.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
A majority of Washtenaw County's traditional public school districts saw a decline in their graduation rates for the class of 2009 compared to the previous year, state data shows.
Districts that saw declines in graduation rates included Dexter, Lincoln, Manchester, Milan, Whitmore Lake, and Ypsilanti.
Among those to post increases were Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Saline and Willow Run, as well as the area’s two public charter high schools.
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Statewide, the graduation data was nearly flat, with 75.5 percent of students graduating in 2008 and 75.23 percent in 2009.
The data measures the number of students entering the ninth grade four years ago and compares that against the number of students graduating in four years. Officials in some districts, including Ypsilanti, have complained more students are taking five years to graduate from high school, and those students shouldn’t count against a district’s graduation rate just because they took longer.
Chelsea saw the largest percentage point increase from the class of 2008 to the class of 2009 among the traditional school districts. Chelsea's graduation rate grew from 90.53 percent in 2008 to 95.65 percent in 2009.
“Students at Chelsea High School feel connected to their school and community,” said Chelsea High School Principal Julie Deppner. “There is a strong sense of belonging as evidenced by the high participation rates in extra-curricular activities and excellent attendance." Deppner said the school has implemented several interventions for at-risk students, including study skills supports for underclassmen, an academic learning lab for at-risk students, weekly student services meetings to address potential at-risk students, and online course options.
“We have also been diligent in tracking our students when they leave our school," Deppner said. "Our office staff does a very thorough job of documenting transfer students to provide accurate graduation information.”
Ann Arbor grew from a graduation rate of 87.53 percent for the class of 2008 to 87.69 percent for the class of 2009.
Chelsea High School English teacher Dawn Putnam instructs a class at the school on Thursday afternoon.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
At the other end of the spectrum, the Ypsilanti school district saw the largest percentage point decrease among local school districts.
Ypsilanti fell from 66.28 percent for the class of 2008 to 59.58 percent for the class of 2009.
“The Ypsilanti High School graduation rate of a little over 70 percent is accurate. We're not happy with it, but it's accurate,” said Bob Wilkinson, Ypsilanti’s director of auxiliary programs. “The 60 percent for the district of Ypsilanti is misleading because of the Drop Back In Academy, which is located in our district."
That academy has students who have previously dropped out of Lincoln, Willow Run, Ypsilanti, and several other high schools, Wilkinson said. If those students had never attended DBI, their dropout status would have remained with their original high schools, he said.
"Once they have been officially counted in DBI, they become Ypsilanti students and their dropout data becomes the property of the school district of Ypsilanti, and they are also no longer counted against their previous high schools," Wilkinson said. “We were promised when the DBI came in that the dropout rate at Ypsilanti High School would not be affected, and that has been true. The dropout rate for the district, however, has been affected and now does not accurately reflect Ypsilanti."
The district with the lowest graduation rate in the county is Willow Run, where 46.71 percent of the class of 2009 graduated. However, that's up more than 3 percentage points from the class of 2008, when 43.18 percent of the students graduated.
| Graduation rates for Washtenaw County districts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| School District | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
| Ann Arbor | 87.69 | 87.53% | 86.90% |
| Central Academy | 95.65 | 89.47% | 82.61% |
| Chelsea | 95.02 | 90.53% | 91.44% |
| Dexter | 91.95 | 93.40% | 96.53% |
| Lincoln | 77.13 | 78.25% | 81.13% |
| Manchester | 89.32 | 91.40% | 86.69% |
| Milan | 77.69 | 79.49% | 78.97% |
| Saline | 91.97 | 91.43% | 93.21% |
| State | 75.23 | 75.50% | N/A |
| Washtenaw Technical Middle College | 81.97 | 80.53% | N/A |
| Whitmore Lake | 80 | 83.18% | 81.82% |
| Willow Run | 46.71 | 43.18% | 51.81% |
| Ypsilanti | 59.58 | 66.28% | 66.78% |
| Source: Michigan Department of Education |
David Jesse covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidjesse@annarbor.com or at 734-623-2534.
Comments
preposition
Wed, May 12, 2010 : 8:41 a.m.
Good article, thanks for reporting it! A minor editorial point: I think rounding the graduation rates to the nearest percent would enable people to more accurately and quickly understand the data. I think showing them as hundredths of a percent (xx.xx%) is unnecessarily precise and the extra numbers only muddle the data, especially for those of us with a tendency to transpose numbers. A bar chart would be even better than a data table.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Wed, May 12, 2010 : 8:37 a.m.
@David Briegel: LOL!! But seriously, for more data and good information on some solutions to this complicated and vexing problem, see my post at: http://www.annarbor.com/news/graduation-rates/index.php#comment-95556
David Briegel
Mon, May 10, 2010 : 6:47 p.m.
Stephen, What, you can't be serious. In order to fix this problem, we must first admit to the fact there is a problem. Second, we must pony up some monery to fix the problem. The Repubs want to steal all the money promised to our teachers for their benefits and retirements rather than pay additional taxes. It truly is that simple. And remember, it was the Repubs that stole all the lotto money that was to fix education and put those funds into the General Fund. They never wanted to fix education or roads. Repubs only wanted to cut the taxes for the upper class. Aren't they just the best? Andy, great post. But how dare you bring up the truth of the income and tax differential and ask that Repubs spend more money. We can't possibly expect the upper class to support the future of our state! That would be against everything Reagan and the Tea Party stands for.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Mon, May 10, 2010 : 1:03 p.m.
It's appalling that 25% of our students statewide drop out and don't graduate from high school. The state's education system is clearly broken and needs to be fixed before it damages another generation of kids.
Otto
Mon, May 10, 2010 : 8:37 a.m.
Thank you David for this analysis. The data is necessary for the community to define students at risk, and as you've found, skin color alone is not a determinant of academic success. The past is past. Funds spent on wrong assumptions cannot be reclaimed. What can happen is an honest evaluation of existing programs and a reallocation of resources to ensure that all at risk students needs are addressed. Defining "at risk" may have to be determined on an individual basis and evaluated on a periodic basis.
Engineer
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 8 p.m.
Graduation rates are only part of the story. Are the students prepared for college or a job or trade school? That is equally important. If graduating does not prepare you for this then it does not really mean a thing other than you got a piece of paper and improved your schools stastistics.
Val Losse
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 7:46 p.m.
Lousiana garuntees a college education to anyone who carries a B average and the family has an income below $25,000. They have decreased their wellfare rolls and actually paid for the program. The program was started by a millionaire. It takes more then money to have the program succeed. Every child enrolled in the program receives counselling and classes to encourage them to succeed. Many of the students have no idea what college is all about because their parents have never gone to college and many have not finished school. K'zoo will increase their rate of grads as the program becomes better known and young people come back to encourage the next generation. There are programs around the country that are successful. Our school systems need to look at them and copy them, the successful ones. Throwing money at a problem without knowing where that money is being spent is wasted. I have not heard of students being required to carry a C average in every class to be elligable to play sports. When I was in school that was a requirement. School is for preparing a person for the future and our schools are failing at that. Tell me what a student can do once they get out of school? Can they weld, be a journalist, work in a lab, how about a manager, project manager etc? Why not provide classes that will prepare them for a career, a career of their interest?
ImTheMOM
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 5:21 p.m.
These are truly sad statistics. There may be many kids who no longer care but there are those who are fighting with everything they have to graduate and yet, they are being told they will not. These statistics are bad, and as one superintendent stated, it is what it is. Nice response. I guess it's the same for those students who want to graduate, sorry but you don't walk this year...it is what it is.
Edward R. Murrow's ghost
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 4:39 p.m.
Andrew: It was below 50% a decade ago.
Andrew Thomas
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 2:26 p.m.
@ Val Losse and Tigger: Graduation rate for Kalamazoo District is 63.7%, well below the State average.
David Jesse
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 12:57 p.m.
@DagnyJ: Not sure why comments weren't turned on in the main story, but I've gone back in and reset it. It should now be accepting comments.
Edward R. Murrow's ghost
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 12:08 p.m.
Val Losse, K-zoo's graduation rate is up, largely due to the Kalamazoo Promise. So throwing money at "it" does work; albeit private money that guarantees K-zoo's grads a paid-for college education. So maybe that's the key? Maybe if students knew, throughout their academic career that, no matter their family's financial circumstance, they were guaranteed a college education, they would see reason to work hard and to succeed in school? Naaaaaah. That would just be "throwing money at the problem".
Val Losse
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 11:17 a.m.
Graduation rates may be affected if the student had a chance to move to higher education, college. What is the data in Kalamazoo? They promise to pay for college if the student does well and graduates from high school. They are looking at the future potential of the student. Everyone has an equal chance at going to school and graduating. Has anyone taken the time to develop data why students don't graduate? Where is that data? Why is a student passed if they cannot read or do math? It will hurt their self-esteem. Well, how hurt are they when they leave school and they cannot read, write, do math etc? They cannot get a job or qualify to go to a trade school. Why don't we have trade schools in high school? Why does the school system train people just to graduate? Should it look to training students in what they are interested in which may increase the graduation rate? Hey, I have an idea throw more money at it. Oh, it doesn't work, does it?
sh1
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 10:32 a.m.
Dagny, it's in a separate article.
DagnyJ
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 10:29 a.m.
Why no comment area for the main story about grad rates for low-income kids?
Mikey2u
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 10:28 a.m.
If the data measures the number of students entering the ninth grade four years ago and compares that against the number of students graduating in four years this is not an accurate measurement of graduation rates. This data might be useful for tracking population shifts in a district but not much else. If you want to track dropout rates you have to monitor individual students over the four year period.
Soothslayer
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 10:14 a.m.
Appalling that society continues to allow this to happen generation after generation. The future will most likely consider these last 100 years the dark ages of capitalism. We ourselves appear educated but somehow allow the situation to continue. The rift between the haves and have-nots is as pronounced as ever and, of course, perfectly acceptable to the haves. They feign fleeting convenient concern about poverty, crime, low education, homelessness but apparently fail to realize that its this VERY system they have and support that creates and perpetuates this scenario in the first place. The system works against itself. Every dollar denied in assistance of meeting basic needs works against the system tenfold later on. Nurturing, educating and keeping people healthy are the BEST investments we as a society can make. How can one be expected to reach their potential when their home life is FULL of constant disappointment and distraction? Anyone remember the speech from Obama at UM commencement? Nothing worthwhile is every easy. Don't expect anything to change unless YOU become the change you wish to see.
Andrew Thomas
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 9:58 a.m.
If you look at the data, you will notice some interesting things about AA public schools. The graduation rates for the two traditional high schools (Huron and Pioneer, data from Skyline is not yet available) are 90.2% and 93.1% respectively. For Community, the graduation rate is 94.1. And for Roberto Clemente, the graduation rate, believe it or not, is 100% (you can look it up). What is skewing the results for the District is Stone School, with a four-year graduation rate of 35.5%. Stone is an alternative school which, almost by definition, does not graduate students within a four-year period. So to understand the graduation rates, you really have to dig into the data. All this is available at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/cepi/2009-2008_MI_Grad-Drop_Rate_318381_7.pdf
belboz
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 8:43 a.m.
Way to look at the glass mostly empty. A total of 13 school districts. 6 schools had their graduation rate increase. 7 school had their graduation rate decrease. Is that most? Looks more like an even split of 13. Technically, I guess most is more than half. But half of most of the schools are probably a majority of the class size. So, most of the data presents only half the picture, at the most. Frankly, with the horrendous economy - I'm suprised the data is not worse. Most of the poor drop out results are generally from troubled cities with poor economies. One more reason to support local companies so they can employ local people - the fundamental power behind a strong, educated society. As in - no foreign products to my neighbor who just bought that new Subaru. Don't you realize we are still in the great recession, and as long as people are unemployed and struggle economically, their family will struggle to focus on education??? Sadly, most people just don't get it - or at least 7 out of 13.