School district takes aim at high dropout rate

Jan. 21, 2007

By RUSSELL STIGALL

Frontiersman

The Mat-Su school district has recognized its drop-out rate is unacceptable, said Traci Crotteau, Mat-Su Media Relations.

To hit the problem head-on, the district has created a number of committees and forums, Crotteau said.

For as many reasons as there is to drop out, there are kids who drop out, said Superintendent-designate George Troxel. The answer will not come from a single program alone.

The district has selected 10 people to attend an upcoming seminar addressing the student dropout rate. The seminar, &#8220Failure is not an Option,” will be the foundation for the district's response to its dropout problem.

&#8220This is a serious problem for our society,” chief school administrator Bob Doyle said.

To bring the issue into public discourse, Doyle proposed an idea to place the responsibility on teachers and school administrators for keeping kids in school.

The district would withhold a portion of a dropout's student-based allocation money - funds given to schools for each student on their rolls. The portion would correspond with the amount of the year the student missed.

The incentive would be financial, and Doyle said he believed it would urge schools to work harder to keep their charges in class. Teachers and administrators are there to keep kids in schools. Instead of rewarding schools for keeping students in class, it will punish them for losing students.

&#8220It is more of a stick than a carrot,” Doyle said.