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Published Thursday, October 15, 2009 in Education
School board questions high 9th grade enrollment
By Jeff Bishop
The Times-Herald
At Tuesday night's Coweta County Board of Education meeting, school board member Michael Sumner asked why the ninth grade numbers are so disproportionate when compared to the numbers of students in other grades.
A cursory scan of the numbers reveals that there are twice as many ninth graders at East Coweta as there are 12th graders, and the other two high schools are almost just as out of kilter.
"Ninth and 10th grade numbers are huge compared to other years," he said.
There are 829 ninth graders at ECHS, and 769 10th graders, compared to the 463 students in 12th grade.
Newnan High, likewise, has 393 seniors but boasts 768 freshmen and 664 sophomores.
Northgate has 384 seniors, 566 freshmen and 454 sophomores.
Coweta County School System Superintendent Blake Bass and Associate Superintendent Jerry Davis explained that, unfortunately many students decide, for whatever reason, not to complete their high school degree program.
"By the time we get to the 12th grade, we've lost some individuals," said Davis.
Even though too many students are lost, "we feel good about where our graduation rate is right now," Davis said, now that it has inched past the 80 percent mark.
"And that's much higher than the graduation rate in much of the rest of the state," said Davis.
In the last five years the local graduation rate has improved by 18 percent, compared to the overall state graduation rate improvement of 12 percent, Davis said.
Bass said that the student population figures don't really convey the whole story since many of the people listed as freshmen or sophomores should actually be one grade higher but simply don't have enough credits.
"So they may be automatically reflected in the ninth grade numbers, if they don't have enough credits earned," Bass said.
Sumner said that the numbers reveal that "relief is in sight" from a classroom space basis because it appears that future class sizes may actually be smaller, in some instances.
That may be true to some limited extent, Bass said, but "maybe it won't be so significant once you spread that out to all the high schools."
"What scares me more," Bass said, are the long-range numbers, such as the large numbers of students in the pre-K program.
"Those children are here to stay," he said.
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The numbers of high school students by grade are different for many reasons. There isn't a single reason. To say that Mr. Bass should do something about the graduation rates is narrow and uninformed. I know he has power, but he does not have the power to force kids to stay in school.
Posted by Question 2 at 11:40 AM
You are REALLY confused. Where did it say the school board was pleased with the numbers? The graduation rate in Coweta County is rising. You throw insults around and don't have a clue about the facts. That is irresponsible on your part. Be better than that.
Posted by Fred at 9:31 AM
My children attend a charter school so there for I do plenty. My husband and I are heavily involved in not only our children's education but the education of all the children attending the school. So what I am doing is helping give an alternative to parents and students in Coweta County. Volunteering is like a second job for my husband and I. Charter Schools are the right choice for some people and not others. But I feel it is our right to be able to make that choice. So tell me what are YOU doing? You are correct I did get Max Bass and Blake Bass confused. But I still feel the same. We should not be fine with our drop out rate.
Posted by Katie at 8:10 PM
I hope you are not suprised they drop out. Children are frequently placed from 1st grade to 6th. PLACED, meaning they have passed nothing and been moved along anyway. Maybe they will be retained once in middle school then placed along. What makes anyone think they can be a success? Should we give them all an SST and pass them for showing up? What would that solve?
Posted by Sara at 10:51 PM
You have to be observant of the schools to know what the real reason is and the article just touched on it a little. There are a LOT of students that are not really 9th or 10th graders but are still in those grades technically because they failed Math I and Math II so they can't move on unless they have passed the 9th and 10th grade classes. Unless we get the state to change the way these classes are being taught these numbers will stay high and more will drop out as they struggle to get through high school. The curriculum is not organized in a common sense pattern and it too confusing. I am having to use private tutors to get my kids through math.
Posted by Tired of it all at 3:57 PM
Katie, You are totally confused. Max Bass is a retired football coach. Blake Bass is the superintendent of schools. He does a great job. What do you do for the students of Coweta County?
Posted by Fred at 9:56 AM
Georgia needs to compare our educational standards against the top ranked state in the nation. If we accept our own shortcomings and duplicate the efforts of the top ranked system, we might actually get somewhere. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening. There are too many roosters in the hen house.
Posted by simplyput at 8:52 AM
Do any of the people commenting care to try to help? This may be a state problem but our problem starts at home in our community.
Posted by pwoodspete at 12:02 PM
This is a concern: why not double-check the resident-status of the 9th graders? So many people want a Coweta education - they may not be Coweta residents?
Posted by Jay-Jay at 8:58 AM
I am confused by this article. I don't understand how our school board can be pleased with these numbers. You should all be ashamed by this. The school board should try to improve this instead of accepting it for what it is. Instead of just sitting around ho humming and saying well for whatever reason they choose not to stay in school. Max Bass why don't you start earning that BIG paycheck you get every year. This is appalling. None of you care about the students we are loosing and it is just disgusting!
Posted by Katie at 4:34 PM
I can tell by reading a couple of these comments that the people that are commenting must be some of the dropouts that the article mentioned.
Posted by Kenneth at 5:49 PM
Yes there are fewer graduates than freshman, it has always been that way. It shouldn't be surprising to anyone that our graduating classes are half of what they were as entering freshman. I don't know why they are questioning it as if it is a new issue... please
Posted by Kim at 11:36 AM
Now that I sit back and think about this, it makes sense. This is why Georgia is 49th (of 50 people...) in education. It's obvious Coweta does not improve Georgia's reputation, or standings.
Posted by Brian at 11:29 AM
NHS.. Are you telling me that over 300 students drop out from freshman to senior... Theres a 375 student difference!!! That is roughly 52%... 52% is not 80%. Get real and stop making up your grad numbers.
Posted by Brian at 11:26 AM
How do the numbers for Juniors fall into this range? It appears that more students may be coming up than are currently exiting the system. Fewest Seniors, then Juniors, then Sophomores, then Freshman? Could it just be more children each year? Are these numbers equal to what they were leaving the middle schools over the past four or five years. Are the middle school numbers greater now also? The way the article read, you would expect it to say we had people from out of town entering the 9th grade campus'. The article actually lent itself to the fact that there are less seniors than other grades. Is this because children are quitting, failing, moving away, more moving into the county, or those we've been having to build more and more schools for finally reaching 9th grade?
Posted by question? at 10:51 AM
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drop out rate
10/23/2009
Link To This Comment
We are going to have many more drop out due to the new math curriculum. Not all students are best served by college prep mathematics.
Posted by math educator at 5:45 AM