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Superintendent says dropout reporting quirks obscure gains; district emphasizes math and ACT preparation
Summary
Superintendent Kevin Haim told the board that the district's dropout rate is improving but reporting processes—especially when students move out of state—can temporarily inflate dropout figures; the district plans increased elementary math emphasis and longer-term work on ACT scores.
Superintendent Kevin Haim told the Lawton Board of Education that the district's dropout figures are improving but remain affected by reporting processes when students move out of state, which can create a temporary "void" in records and make students appear as dropouts.
Haim said state reporting systems do not always allow districts to immediately correct those records once a student moves, which can artificially raise the dropout rate on published reports even after the district has identified and tracked the student's enrollment elsewhere. He said the state has been improving those processes but the timing of calendar and reporting cycles can still cause discrepancies.
Haim described academic performance as a central focus for the district and said officials are prioritizing math across elementary grades to lift long-term measures such as the ACT. He noted that Lisa Sparks, the district's executive director of elementary education, has an elementary math background and is leading increased emphasis at that level.
"You don't have to be bad to get better. We have to get better," Haim said, summarizing the district's goal for academic improvement.
The superintendent did not provide a specific current dropout rate or exact ACT score figures during the meeting; those numeric details were not specified in the transcript. The remarks were part of the superintendent's report during the open session; later agenda items covered routine approvals and executive-session personnel matters.
Board announcements at the end of the meeting noted upcoming events, including a regional meeting at the Albert Johnson Conference Center and a home football game and homecoming at MacArthur High School; the board also discussed potential band bleachers for the stadium end zone.
