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District reports lowest recorded dropout rate; five-year graduation rate edges above state
Summary
A district dropout-prevention coordinator told the Columbus County Board of Education the district’s current dropout rate is 0.78 percent and its most recent five-year cohort graduation rate is 89.2 percent, higher than the state five-year rate of 87.9 percent; staff tied improvements to targeted prevention efforts.
During the student support services portion of the Columbus County Board of Education meeting, the district’s dropout-prevention coordinator reviewed five-year dropout and graduation trends and prevention strategies.
The coordinator said Columbus County Schools’ current dropout rate is 0.78 percent and that the district’s five-year cohort graduation rate is 89.2 percent — a 5.9-point increase over the past 10 years. The coordinator said those figures compare favorably with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (NCDPI) most recent five-year cohort graduation rate of 87.9 percent and the state dropout rate of 1.34 percent.
The coordinator attributed improvements to coordinated work among student-support staff, school social workers, counselors, principals and administrators; strategies cited included individualized interventions, home visits, attendance follow-up and coordination with families for students facing housing instability, health problems, incarceration, or the need to care for family members. The presenter noted the district’s dropout rate rose during the 2020–21 school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic but has since declined to the current low.
Board members praised the staff’s work and asked staff to continue tracking how summer remediation and other interventions affect later-year performance.
Votes at a glance: The presentation was informational and no board vote was required.
