Denver Public Schools Sees Drop In Dropout Rates
DENVER (CBS4/AP) - Denver Public Schools have been experiencing a decline in dropout rates as thousands more students made it to commencement last year.
School officials said Tuesday the dropout rate in the 2005-2006 school year was 11.1 percent. The dropout rate for the 2009-2010 period was 6.4 percent, with 1,700 more students staying in school than five years ago.
The rates include all students in grades seven through 12.
"We're just paying so much more individual attention to our students. We've got a set of early warning lights that if we see a student is missing school or failing a course or two, those are real early warning signs that that student may drop out," DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg said.
DPS officials say 350 more students enrolled in college last fall than the fall of 2006, making the district's college enrollment rate 50 percent.
The district attributes part of the decline in dropouts to the start of Multiple Pathways Centers, schools tailored for students who have difficulty in traditional settings.
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