The percentage of Durango High School students graduating in four years increased 13 percent from 2013 to 2014.
Eighty-four percent of the class of 2014 finished its studies in four years compared with 71 percent in the class of 2013.
Increased four-year graduation brought a decline in the dropout rate – 2½ percent in 2014 and 3.6 percent the year before. The improvement takes into account only DHS students. The dropout rates are slightly higher when Big Picture High School and DeNier Youth Services Center students are included.
It didn’t just happen, said district Superintendent Dan Snowberger. Special efforts are made to keep students on the graduation track.
“We work hard to give them a variety of opportunities,” Snowberger said. “Our teachers and counselors were persistent in engaging them so they didn’t think we’d given up on them.”
Students learn in different ways and in different environments, so the district provides variety, he said.
Gateway to College keeps potential dropouts in school through classes at community colleges. Students earn credit for high school and college at the same time.
At Big Picture High School, an 80-student alternative school, personal project-based learning replaces a structured setting.
Southwest Colorado Community College, a western campus of Pueblo Community College, offers an adult setting and independence.
The Durango Education Center has classes that provide the basics for high school graduation. The center also helps adults get the high school diploma that has eluded them.
Attention to students becomes personalized at weekly Professional Learning Communities sessions – better known to parents as early release day.
That’s Monday when students go home from 1:30 to 2:20 p.m. depending on the school. Teachers and counselors at each school stay to discuss what works best collectively and individually for students.
The weekly get-togethers, in their sixth year, focus on three questions, Snowberger said. They are: What do we want students to know? How do we know if they know it? What do we do if they don’t?
The improved graduation rate highlights the importance of choice of approach to learning, but it’s driven by the dedication of teachers and counselors, Snowberger said.
“The persistence of teachers and counselors in keeping after our students is the key,” he said.
DHS Principal Leanne Garcia is of like mind.
“We’re intentionally deliberate about how we use our time and how we engage our students,” Garcia said.
The 90-minute PLC sessions on Mondays alternate content week to week. One week, participants look at how curriculum at the department level aligns with state standards, and the next week, they address what instruction is needed to meet the standards and satisfy individual student needs.
If a student is doing well in one area but not another, teachers, comparing notes, may provide each other insights.
At DHS, from 3:20 to 4 p.m. daily, except Monday, teachers wrap up their days by meeting about departmental issues or taking care of individual responsibilities.
As yet another effort to keep students headed to graduation with their class, the high school two years ago added a college and career specialist to the counseling department to prepare students for their post-secondary life.
Deb Medenwaldt builds ties with the organizations and agencies with programs that complement or supplement the 9-R curriculum.
“We don’t work as individuals, but rather as a team for curriculum and kids,” Garcia said.
daler@durangoherald.com
