Evelyn Jacobs

Staff Photo by Tim Barber
An eight-member panel discusses graduation rates versus the dropout rate in Hamilton County schools on Wednesday at the First Baptist Church in downtown Chattanooga.

If high school students fear for their lives when they walk to and from school, chances are they're not too concerned about studying for a math test.

If local teachers can choose to work in several neighboring states that mostly pay better than Hamilton County, it's likely the district is going to lose out on some of the best and brightest teachers.

Brainerd High School Principal Charles Joynes raised these issues and more on Wednesday during "Expectation: Graduation. Dropouts Are Everyone's Business," a communitywide brainstorming session on how to keep kids in school.

Both scared kids and teachers leaving were factors in Hamilton County's declining graduation rate, which fell from 72.6 in 2008 to 70.9 in 2009, he said.

Several hundred people filled the pews at First Baptist Church downtown during the all-day event. Representatives were on hand from local schools, community agencies, nonprofit organizations, businesses and churches in hopes of maximizing their combined resources to help students graduate.

East Lake Academy Principal Neelie Parker told about a student named Damien, who will be nine by the time he finishes with second grade, a grade that usually ends by age seven. Through research, administrators have found that, when a student is over-age by grade, they are much more likely to eventually drop out of school.

Damien was an older kindergartner to begin with, and then was made to repeat the kindergarten, Ms. Parker said.

"What do we need? Is retention the answer? Is summer school the answer? Or maybe we need an extended calendar where we hold on to kids a little longer," she said. "We don't want to make excuses any longer. We want to make a difference."

Part of Wednesday's event included a panel of students who either had dropped out of high school or had considered dropping out. Each talked about reasons for leaving school and what others could have done to encourage them to finish.

Hannah Knight dropped out of school after having a daughter two years ago. She said she had gotten into drugs and all her classmates seemed perfect, so she didn't feel she fit in. Plus, she didn't have childcare for her daughter and felt like she had no choice but to be a stay-at-home mom.

Hannah now attends Hamilton County High School, an alternative adult high school with a flexible schedule.

"My daughter thinks day care is school, so every morning, she comes and slaps me across the face and says, 'Mommy, I gotta get to school,'" Hannah said. "And that keeps me going."

Officials from the Forum for Youth Investment, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, also were on hand Wednesday to help moderate the discussion and create a master plan for how to improve Hamilton County's graduation rate.

The organization's project "Ready by 21" chose Hamilton County as one of five pilot school districts in the Southeast and now will begin crafting a document with specific recommendations for community leaders to be involved in schools.

DROPOUTS OVERAGE BY GRADE LEVEL

2005: 64 percent

2006: 63 percent

2007: 64 percent

2008: 66 percent

2009: 68 percent

Source: Hamilton County Department of Education