Did You Know?

•  Although children are required by law to attend school until age 16, they often consider or make the decision to dropout while in the 6^th Grade.
•  Students who leave school early are more likely to leave at the end of their 9^th grade year, especially if they have failed 2 or more classes.
•  Poor attendance, academic failure, pregnancy or parenting responsibilities, substance abuse, disciplinary suspensions, or court involvement are all indicators used when identifying students who are “at-risk” for dropping out of school.
•  Students who leave school early, without a diploma, are more likely to be unemployed, more likely to experience legal issues, more likely to become pregnant or cause a pregnancy while a teenager, and more likely to live in poverty as an adult.

What can we do?

•  Mentor a student… Students who form positive relationships with adults and other students at school or who support and encourage the goal of graduation are more likely to remain in school.
•  Encourage consistent attendance…..Attendance is directly linked with academic success and completing coursework.  If students aren’t in the classroom, it is unlikely that they will access or master the material being taught.
•  Encourage students study outside of school and to complete homework assignments. Set aside a specific study area and consistent study time in order to eliminate distractions and procrastination. Students who are engaged in academic work outside of school are more likely to be successful in the classroom.
•  Encourage students to engage in school sponsored activities.  Students who participate in athletics, clubs and school activities are more likely finish school and enjoy their school experience.
•  Maintain close communication between school and home in order to form a strong positive relationship between student, parent, and school in order to ensure personal and academic success.
•  Encourage students to take advantage of opportunities offered at school by attending special events, enrolling in classes that interest them, exploring opportunities outside of class such as internships, apprenticeships, internet based courses, and school sponsored activities such as fieldtrips.

A dropout is a student who

• was enrolled in school at some time during the previous school year, which is the reporting year;
• was not enrolled on Day 20 of the current school year;
• has not graduated from high school or completed a state or district approved educational program; and does not meet any of the following reporting exclusions;
1. transferred to another public school district, private school, home school or state/district approved educational program,
2. temporarily absent due to suspension or school approved illness, or
3. death.

North Carolina's Compulsory Attendance Law (G.S.115C-378) requires every parent, guardian, or other person in North Carolina having charge or control of a child between the ages of 7 and 16 years of age to cause that child to attend school continuously for a period equal to the time which the public school to which the child is assigned is in session.  This means that all students between the ages of 7 and 16 who do not meet exemptions, such as transferring to another school, must be counted as dropouts.

These data are processed at the state agency, reviewed for discrepancies and sent back to LEAs for verification.