Hollister
– More than twice as many students dropped out of San Benito
High School during the 2005-2006 school year as during the previous
year, a trend concerned educators hope to reverse.
Hollister – More than twice as many students dropped out of San Benito High School during the 2005-2006 school year as during the previous year, a trend concerned educators hope to reverse.
A report released by the high school this week showed a 135 percent increase in the number of dropouts, which was up from 26 during the 2004-2005 school year to 61 last year. The dropout rate has not been calculated for this year because students who have left could potentially come back.
The increase was primarily due to the California High School Exit Exam becoming a requirement for seniors, explained Jim Koenig, director of finance and operations for the district. Twenty of the reported dropouts were students who did not pass the CAHSEE, he said.
San Benito High School District Superintendent Stanley Rose said the increase in dropouts is a concern to the district, but one that teachers and administrators are working hard to fix. He said the dropout numbers tend to fluctuate by year, but this year administrators are attributing the big increase to the exit exam requirement.
“The import of a new variable – being the CAHSEE passage – is the reason for the difference in the trend,” Rose said.
If the 20 students who did not pass the exit exam are omitted, the number of dropouts is actually less than the average number of dropouts for the school over the last five years: 48 students a year.
Because of this, the district is specifically focusing on preparing students for the exit exam in order to lower these dropout numbers.
Cindy Cordova, the director of educational services is working on developing programs for at-risk students. This year, San Benito High School has offered an exit exam support tutoring course in lieu of an elective. The school is also developing an intensive after-school program for students who have taken and failed the exit exam. The exam is offered in February and again in May.
Additionally, Gavilan Community College has received a $269,000 grant to help students get their high school diplomas. The grant will allow Gavilan to work with the high school feeder districts to provide additional instruction and preparation courses for those students who do not pass the exit exam.
“Our program is to support whatever the high schools are doing. We don’t want to duplicate or repeat,” said Rachel Perez, the associate dean of community development and grants management for Gavilan.
Their program will offer small group instruction to teach test-taking skills, so the students can pass the exit exam and graduate from high school.
Alice Joy covers education for the Free Lance. She can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 336 or aj**@fr***********.com.
