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Feedback: Watertown Educators Find Grad Rates 'Discouraging'

Story Published: Jun 21, 2012 at 5:54 PM EDT

Story Updated: Jun 21, 2012 at 6:55 PM EDT

It's eighth grade promotion day at Watertown High School.

The students make up next year's freshman class.

But if you believe a state report, many of them won't graduate when they're supposed to.

District officials are dismayed.

"It's discouraging, I guess, in a lot of ways," said Mike Flick, president of the Watertown Board of Education.

Of the freshman class in 2007, the report says less than 62 percent graduated on time four years later.

But a number of upstate cities did no better.

Are they all facing common, inner-city problems?

"Sometimes we do lose kids. They come, they register for awhile from a neighboring school district, out of state, who knows, hang out for awhile because they're here with a relative, then drop out," said Flick.

Watertown's superintendent thinks there's another factor, too - over-ambitious Regents requirements that may be pushing some kids out the door before they graduate.

"But there's a large number of students that frankly give up by the time they're in ninth grade," said Terry Fralick.

Fralick says things would turn around if the state ditched the requirement that all students graduate with a Regents diploma and directed more kids toward trade school.

"I don't think graduation rates would be an issue. We wouldn't even be talking about graduation rate," said Fralick.

District officials also cite the district's large number of GED diplomas and a high percentage of special needs students.

but one thing's for sure - this will be a topic at the next board of education meeting.

 

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Saturday, May 18, 2013
, Watertown, NY

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