NISD graduation rate eighth among largest districts
NISD Communications Department
August 16, 2006
[b]Northside graduation rate ranks eighth among largest districts in nation[/b]
Northside ISD is receiving national recognition for its high graduation rate. The district has the eighth highest graduation rate among the 50 largest districts in the nation, according to a report recently released by Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center.
The report, called "Diplomas Count: An Essential Guide to Graduation Policy and Rates," lists Northside as the 49th largest district in the nation with a graduation rate of 75.8 percent. Northside follows the state guidelines for calculating graduation rates and currently reports an 86 percent graduation rate.
"We were really excited to see that data; we worry about that data," Sara McAndrew, executive director of secondary instruction, said of the report.
McAndrew and Brian Woods, assistant superintendent for secondary administration, attribute the district's high graduation rate to a number of efforts. The district is doing a better job of following up on students who don’t return to school in the fall to figure out if they've truly dropped out or just transferred to another school district, Woods said. To track down students at Clark High School, for example, parents and guardians are contacted by phone and e-mail, and even teachers are asked if they know what happened to missing students.
"The attention to detail in something like this is huge," McAndrew said.
A number of support programs also are in place to make sure that students who fail classes or TAKS tests don't get discouraged and drop out. For example, a credit retrieval program allows students to retake courses, and every summer, a two-week "TAKS Blitz" is offered at each high school campus for students who have failed any portion of the exit exam.
Improving graduation rates also are a result of the district focusing on the needs of every student, Woods said.
"As we get better at looking at kids individually instead of as a group, we'll naturally have lower and lower dropout rates because we’ll be able to meet those kids' needs better," Woods said.
Still, the district can not rest on its laurels, and there is much room for improvement, Woods said. One of the district’s biggest challenges is economically disadvantaged students who drop out because they need to get jobs to support their families.
"Whatever it takes is what we have to do," McAndrew said. "It's wonderful they recognized our work, but we still have so much work to do."
Other Texas districts that made the top 50 include: Cypress-Fairbanks (81.3 percent graduation rate), Austin (55.1 percent graduation rate), Houston (48.9 percent), Fort Worth (48.9 percent) and Dallas (46.3 percent). For a complete copy of the Diplomas Count report, visit the Web site www.edweek.org.
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