Dropout rate in Beaufort County remains nearly static | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press release:

Beaufort County Schools Overview

    The high school dropout count for Beaufort County Schools grew by 1 student, 110 to 111, from the 2009-2010 school year to 2010-2011. This according to the 2010-2011 Consolidated Report release by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction last week. The rate increased from 4.90% to 5.02%. Drop out numbers for Beaufort County Schools remains greatly improved from the 2006-2007 peak of 145 students dropping out of high school.

    "We will never be comfortable with the dropout rate until it reaches zero and remains at zero," explained Dr. Don Phipps, Superintendent of Beaufort County Schools. "We will continue to analyze every part of the equation that results in our students dropping out of high school and find answers. Beaufort County Schools has acknowledged the need for dropout prevention is evident long before students reach high school. With each school year, we continue to build our strategies for early intervention. On the other side of the coin, the Pathways to Success Program, housed within the Beaufort County Ed Tech Center, is bringing back many who dropped out of school and sending them out as high school graduates."

    In Beaufort County, male students continue to drop out more often than female students (72 to 39 in 2010-2011) and dropouts of black and white students nearly equal (48 black, 44 white in 2010-2011).

    Reportable acts of crime and violence are required to be reported to the State Board of Education and law enforcement, following the 1993 Safe Schools Act passed by the General Assembly. Beaufort County posted an increase of nine reportable acts from 2009-2010 to 2010-2011. Phipps explains this does not necessarily note a spike in crime, but a better attention to detail in proper reporting of incidences.

    "In the past year, we, as a school system, sought clarity of some regulations regarding reporting. I am now confident incidences are being properly recorded and reported to officials as stated in the legislation. This does not mean our incidences are on the rise," according to Phipps.

    Short-term suspensions in the system rose by 229 from 2009-2010 to 2010-2011. In part, this rise in numbers can be attributed to a small number of students facing long-term suspensions. "We want to keep students in school," Phipps explained. "No educator wants a student to be out of school for a year." Researched based intervention strategies such as PBIS or Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports are making a difference among the students. "Staff members have been working hard to learn strategies to work with a child to keep them in the mainstream and keep them from being a distraction to other students who are ready and willing to learn. We want them back in the classroom as soon as possible. Outside the classroom, their chances for success diminish quickly."

    Attention to enforcement of policies prohibiting bullying and harassment may have also contributed to a rise in disciplinary actions taken. Beaufort County Schools has a section on each website for reporting bullying and or harassment. All reports, along with other identified incidences, are investigate and taken very seriously.

    To view the entire report, go to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's website at www.ncpublicschools.org.

    Sarah Hodges
    Public Information Officer
    Beaufort County Schools
      252.946.6593 office
      252.402.5834 cell