Area Schools Talk Graduation Rates and Dropout Prevention: Marietta City Schools

Now that there are new federal reporting guidelines for calculating graduates and dropouts.   School districts will need to improve or develop initiatives to combat the dropout rate.

For this report, a look at what the Marietta City School District plans to do.

Nearly 8,000 students attend Marietta City schools which is a full charter system.

More than 2,000 attend Marietta High School.

Like other districts Marietta has seen a sizeable decline in its graduation rate.

Associate superintendent Dayton Hibbs says there’s a reason for that.

“We’ve knew that mobility is an issue especially if you’re working with students of poverty it’s going to be an issue. So, the new cohort graduation rate really highlights the mobility within schools.”

Last school year nearly 66% of Marietta City students were getting free or reduced lunch.

That according to data from the Department of Education, would place the district in the middle of what’s considered a low poverty and high poverty district.

Hibbs say tracking students that leave a school is sometimes stalled because many do not formally withdraw.

Under the new reporting guidelines, these students will count as dropouts.

Hibbs say the school system is improving its tracking process.

“One thing that we try to do now is we use our student information in order to input any information relation to where the student has gone next.”

Dayton Hibbs says if a student is headed towards dropping out, other resources are offered.

“We try to coach students to encourage them to either go into adult education or stay in school, that’s our primary goal is to have the student stay in school.”

While there’s much discussion as to whether or not the new reporting guidelines are fair, Hibbs says it provides an opportunity for school districts and the community to come together:

“I think it behooves school districts to also look at this as a community effort and to ensure that we’re educating our families in regard to the importance of them doing everything we can within their resources to keep their kids stable in their schools.”

WABE is reporting on dropout prevention in metro area schools.

The Atlanta Public Schools, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton have not responded with their information.