To drop Boston's dropout rate

BOSTON'S PUBLIC high schools are sounding their own alarm: Too many students are dropping out. A new school department study done by the Parthenon Group lists dismal numbers. In the 2005-2006 academic year, 1,900 students dropped out. Another 4,500 students are "almost certain to drop out," because they have fallen behind in school. The four-year graduation rate is 60 percent, but only 53 percent excluding the exam schools. For the class of 2004, the total six-year rate was 68 percent.

Speaking at a community meeting in Dorchester on Saturday, Carol Johnson, the new school superintendent, said Boston can't have a system that only educates some students. That's why Boston must devise sound, customized solutions, drawing on state government, business, and the community.

One strength of the report is that it identifies who is at risk of dropping out. This includes English language learners who first enter the system in high school, eighth graders with poor attendance, and ninth graders who fail English, math, science or history. In addition, 61 percent of dropouts are boys, 55 percent are African-American, and 29 percent are Hispanic.

Identifying who is vulnerable, and when, creates an opening for "intensive strategic intervention," according to Lili Allen, a program director at Jobs for the Future, a local nonprofit that was a partner in the study. For example, Allen points out that troubled ninth graders don't drop out immediately, so there's a chance to help them before they do.

Many students need to build their academic skills and manage personal challenges such as pregnancy, homelessness, and mental illness. It's work that state and nonprofit human service providers can assist with.

Boston also has to meet the global challenge of being a new home for immigrant families and their teenaged children. The report praises the Boston International High School for educating English learners, but notes that the school is too small to meet the full need. Along with other good, small programs, this one must be brought to scale.

Thousands of current dropouts need a radically reinvented system that includes new transition centers to help re-enroll them. Teachers may need training to boost their effectiveness with these students. The school system should also consider expanding night school and other alternative programs. And high schools and businesses should work together more closely to show how class work leads to economic productivity.

Making this a priority, Johnson plans to make recommendations to the school committee in January so it can budget appropriately for the next school year. But its steps should be part of a larger blueprint for reducing dropouts. Boston should make finishing high school more compelling than leaving it.