46 of 106 schools had no students drop out in 2009-10

 25 schools had only one or two dropouts

 The combined dropout rate for all 106 schools was 2.3 percent, well below the state’s 3.75 percent rate

An analysis of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s latest dropout data reveals fresh evidence that students in most schools affiliated with the North Carolina New Schools Project outperform traditional high schools. Nearly half the 106 high schools that are partners with NCNSP had no dropouts in 2009-10

Overall, innovative high schools in the state that are partners with the North Carolina New Schools Project remain a pacesetter on this key indicator of student engagement. Among all 106 innovative high schools that were open in 2009-10, their combined dropout rate for the school year was 2.3 percent, according to an NCNSP analysis of state data. That rate is down from 2.96 percent the year before and significantly lower than that the statewide rate of 3.75 percent.

Officials with the Department of Public Instruction reported to the State Board of Education today that the state’s overall dropout rate for 2009-10 – a decrease from 4.27 percent the previous year – was the lowest ever recorded in the state. The state’s dropout rate in 1999-2000 was 6.43 percent.

“North Carolina’s high schools are making solid progress in keeping students in school,” said Tony Habit, NCNSP president, “and innovative high schools demonstrate what is required to achieve the goal of 100 percent graduation rates. Making sure that students stay in school and graduate ready for college and career is a critical issue for every community and the future of our state.”

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Among the findings in NCNSP’s analysis of the data are these:

 Nearly half the 106 innovative high schools (43 percent) had no dropouts in 2009-10.

 The 46 innovative schools with no dropouts last year represented more than half (61 percent) of the 75 high schools statewide that lost no students to dropping out.

 Two thirds (67 percent) of the 106 innovative schools had two or fewer dropouts.

 More than two thirds (71 percent) of the 100 innovative high schools that enrolled freshmen in 2009-10 lost no freshmen as dropouts.

 And of the 106 innovative high schools, 91 of them outperformed high schools in their districts or regions with similar socioeconomic composition.

 Among the 100 schools with freshman classes, 88 of them showed lower 9th grade dropout rates than their comparison schools.

Early college and STEM high schools continue to show particular strength in stemming dropouts. These facts stand out:

 More than half the 70 early colleges – 38 schools – had no dropouts.

 Sixty of the schools counted no freshmen dropouts, while nine of the other 10 schools lost just one student to dropping out. The other school lost two freshmen.

 The dropout rate for all early college high schools combined in 2009-10 was just 0.6 percent, slightly less than the 0.7 percent in 2008-09 and a continued improvement from the 1.38 percent rate for early college high schools in 2006-07.

Nine STEM schools, open for their third year in 2009-10 with a focus on science, technology, engineering and math, also lost few students as dropouts.

 Five of the nine schools had no dropouts, and six of the nine lost no students as dropouts from the 9th grade.

 The dropout rate for the STEM schools was 1.6 percent. Just 12 freshmen in all nine of the schools were reported to have dropped out, with most of those concentrated in two schools.

See attached list of NCNSP-affiliated schools with no dropouts in 2009-10