N.H. Law Adds Two Years to Dropout Age

24 Jun 2009

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By Kristen Fountain
Valley News Staff Writer

As their former classmates graduate, change is also coming for the roughly 2,000 students in New Hampshire who leave high school every year without a diploma. Starting on July 1, all New Hampshire residents will be required to stay in school until the age of 18. The current rule, which requires a student to attend school until he or she is 16 years old, is changing as the result of a law approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. John Lynch in 2007. At least 17 other states have made 18 the compulsory age of education, including Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The state's goal is to reduce the high school dropout rate to zero over the next two years, through a combination of individualized learning plans, on-line courses, adult education, General Education Development (GED) preparation and other alternatives, said Paul Leather, director of adult learning at the New Hampshire Department of Education.

“We really do believe that saying to kids, ‘You can't leave school, will make a difference,' ” Leather said. The law is about commitment on the part of schools, school districts and the broader community, he said. The idea is “to commit to each and every kid completing.”

Approximately 3 percent of New Hampshire high school students choose to leave school after turning 16, according to the state education department's records, which it estimates means an overall dropout rate of almost 12 percent over four years. In Vermont, where students are still be able to end their education at age 16, slightly more than 3 percent of high school students leave, while nationally, that figure is almost 4 percent.

Leaving school early is more common in some school districts and parts of the state than others, so the state is giving school districts latitude in how they adapt to the new law, Leather said. In the Upper Valley, the annual dropout rates from last year vary from around 1 percent or lower in Lebanon and Sunapee and in the Dresden and Kearsarge Regional School Districts to more than 6 percent in Claremont, with the remainder of high schools near the state average.

In Claremont, the school district has several options to extend to students who will have to return, said Principal Paul Couture. For those students close to graduating who have a plan in place for their future already, the school will offer a diploma for 22 credits of coursework rather than the 27 credits currently required. (The state minimum is 20 credits.)

There will also be a self-contained program within the school for older returning students. Students will also be able to take courses through the adult education program run by the school district or with a private firm called Ombudsman Educational Services, which will be opening an office in Claremont, Couture said. Although the new requirement seemed daunting at first, “we're fairly confident now that we have enough variety and enough flexibility to be able to design programming to meet these students' needs,” he said.

At Mascoma Valley Regional High School, which has a dropout rate near the state average, the district is considering offering GED training within the high school, said interim assistant superintendent Patrick Andrew. The school is also likely to expand on an already existing “extended learning opportunity” program, which allows students to get credit for activities outside of the classroom, such as work experience or internships.

Creating an individualized plan is likely to be essential for keeping returning students engaged, Andrew said. “If you've left school and you're coming back and your class has already graduated, you often feel disconnected,” he said.

The change in the law is forcing schools to adapt to serve students who have trouble in the traditional classroom environment, which is challenging, said Andrew. But the result is beneficial for everyone.

“The end product is that we make schools better for all types of kids,” he said.