Monday, June 28, 2010

Are you happy with the district's graduation rate?

The Suffolk News Herald posted an online article this evening entitled, Falling short.  The report shares that two of our three high schools will likely fall short of meeting a higher graduation rate standard this year.  Additionally, Tracy Agnew reports that only 69 percent of our students graduate on time.  That’s 1/3 (one-third) of our students!

Graduation rates are one of the most important indicators of a school’s success – and more importantly, one of the key indicators for student success as they move into adulthood.

Four of our school board members are up for election this year.  These four were elected in 2006 and supervised the district during the entire time this year’s graduates were in high school.

Are you happy with our graduation rate?  If not, there are citizens who are ready to step up to the plate.  

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

What would be the rate if the benchmarks werent lowered to help a class of people? That should be the question.Affirmative action got Obama into the white house didnt it?

Anonymous said...

Judged by last year’s numbers, neither Lakeland High School nor King’s Fork High School makes the grade.

Only 69 percent of the students who began high school at either school in 2005 graduated in 2009 with either a standard or an advanced studies diploma. Nansemond River’s rate was 83 percent.

The data for the class of 2010 will be released later this summer, and schools that do not meet the 80 percent graduation rate will not be marked as having made adequate yearly progress. Those schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act face sanctions, including being required to allow parents to switch their children to better-performing schools.

Anonymous said...

Take heart parents, Suffolk Public Schools had the best year ever graduating 20 year olds. Now include the number of teenage pregnancies, dropouts and near illiterates and you have Doctor Liverman's Legacy.

If Suffolk is ever to rise out of it's self induced devolutionary trend and attract serious investment, it must first improve the level of education. Nansemond River in beautiful, prosperous and safe Northern Suffolk is doing much better than the rest of the city. Why is that?

Anonymous said...

Once upon a time dropouts were given menial jobs like washing dishes and cleaning toilets. They had very few options to make a livelihood. But now thanks to the federal government passing out food stamps, free healthcare, housing and much more, what is there to keep them in school? So they drop out, have a kid or two with different teenage girls and aspire to become career door stops and front porch ornamants. The best example of entrepreurship seen in downtown lately has been the Walmart Prilosec thief. He probably graduated Suffolk High School with honors.

Anonymous said...

This is great news for the warehouse and distribution industry, lawncare and fast food chains. The Mayor, City Council and School Board got this one right.

Anonymous said...

For Doctor Liverman today is Stardate 1100630 his last day as Superintendent of Suffolk Public Schools. Let us all wish him well as he sails off to new horizons.

Anonymous said...

While two out of three Suffolk High Schools struggle to attain 69% graduation rates, and gasp at the prospects of making 80%, a town in China has a consistent 100% rate with many going to overseas universities. Moral of the story, we need Chinese Teachers!

Anonymous said...

Potty training classes is the latest school program. John and Jane can't read or write but they can hit the target every time just ask any janitor. Indeed our nanny state school system is doing just fine thank you.

Anonymous said...

Not to long ago the good doctor rewarded Lakeland with a cash infusion so they could take part in an event that he felt they should be a part of all in the name of progress and recongintion of what now appears to be failure.

Anonymous said...

Stardate 11007.06, NASA changed it's mission and no longer needs to worry that our country will going at it alone. More comforting is that they will reach out to the Muslim world and share our technology and knowledge with them. Does anyone know did Dr. Milton Liverman go to NASA after he left the city?

tom said...

I recently spoke to my nephew, and he told me how he managed to graduate. In one class he had a 56 average, but the teacher said he was a quiet student and had caused no problems in class so she changed his grade to 69.7. Another of his teachers told him his 63 would become passing if he turned in a term paper the next day. He paid a girl in his class to write it for him. This is what happens when attention is paid to numbers of graduates, instead of to teaching.

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