Strategies in Place to Retain Students JCS Graduate Rate Surpasses State's SMITHFIELD-- Johnston County Schools' four-year graduation rate is 74.5 percent, 6.7 points higher than the state rate, thanks to programming put in place to prevent students from dropping out. This achievement lends credence to the importance and success of the dropout prevention programs that have been developed to keep students in school and insure their success in high school. Additionally, the cohort graduation rate for economically disadvantaged students is 7.5 percent greater than the state's rate. Students with disabilities in this cohort graduated at a rate that is 9.9 percent greater than the state's rate for students in the same category. The four-year graduation rate is a new measure of school performance mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind legislation. This legislation holds schools and school systems accountable for student success. This new measure reports the percent of students who graduate high school in four years. While useful, this new graduation rate does not include those students who are still enrolled but have not graduated in the traditional four years associated with high school. Johnston County Schools has employed a variety of innovative strategies to insure that all students graduate from high school. Last year, for example, the district opened the new Johnston County Middle College to address the needs of the non-traditional student. The program is housed on the campus of Johnston Community College, and serves between 70 and 100 students each year. For three years, the district has employed Student Advocates whose sole responsibility is to seek out at-risk students and counsel them for success. The district also uses Nova.net, a software based credit recovery program, for students lacking the credits needed to graduate from high school. Finally, the high school summer school offers students a limited array of courses that can be taken during the summer for review and remediation. "We are committed to ensuring that our students are successful while they are enrolled in the Johnston County Schools. One of the indicators of our success is the ability to retain students who want to finish school but are at risk of dropping out. We know that one size does not fit all in education. Providing options for our students creates the winning combination of being able to provide instruction while ensuring that learning is taking place," said Dr. Anthony Parker, Superintendent.
