By Joseph Edgerton
Staff Writer

Legislators are supporting a new bill that would raise the dropout age limit from 16 to 18 but some high school principals are skeptical, saying the age requirement alone won't solve New Hampshire's problem.

Gov. John Lynch has been working with state Senators Dick Green and Iris Estabrook to change the compulsory education age, which has been in effect since 1903.

Lynch said an estimated 2,500 students drop out of high school each year and he hopes the legislation, which may take effect as early as 2008-09, will change that.

"First, it sends an important message to our students that it is not okay for them to drop out," said Lynch. "Second, changing the law issues a challenge to parents, schools and communities to work together to make sure our young people not only go to school but also want to stay in school."

In addition, New Hampshire has given out about $4 million in grants, and the Workforce Opportunity Council and the Department of Education will soon be accepting applications from school districts to support local dropout prevention programs.

High school principals, however, are unconvinced that raising the age at which a student can legally drop out of school will encourage them to stay in school.

Bow High School Principal George Edwards said the legislation fails to recognize why students are dropping out.

"I'm in favor of helping our kids, but I'm not sure if raising the age alone will do that," Edwards said. "Kids who drop out usually do so for a reason, and usually it's pretty profound. To expect raising the age to solve the problem is a little naive."

The dropout rate at Bow High School was 2.5 percent during the 2003-04 school year. Edwards said the school has been averaging a dropout rate of 1.5 percent for the last four to five years.

"I know that the governor wants to see the kids succeed, but we may just end up with kids spending two additional years in high school without succeeding or learning," said Edwards. "The emphasis should be on students learning and being successful, not just staying in school."

To that effect, Bow High School, like many other schools, offers a host of alternative programs.

"We try to follow each student who drops out, and we.ll sit down with the student and his or her parents and talk about options, not about dropping out," Edwards said. "We talk about night classes or getting credits at the New Hampshire Community Technical College, and transferring them back to Bow."

In addition to providing a valuable trade to those who are uncomfortable in a classroom setting, dual enrollment allows students to earn college credits while they are finishing high school.

"We also have an at-risk program for students to support them academically, emotionally and socially," said Edwards. "It's important to give these kids a safe place in school, a place where they don't see themselves as failures."

Goffstown High School Principal Frank McBride said motivating and encouraging students is critical to their success, and he is opposed to the bill because it is unfair to those who wish to stay in school.

"Kids who want to drop out but can't can be disruptive, and it can be a bad fit for them and for others," McBride said. "Mandating that a student has to stay in school until 18 could create more challenges and disruptions. The legislation is going to stunt the growth of students."

McBride said Goffstown High School has a population of roughly 1,300 students, and has a dropout rate of 2 percent. Like Edwards, McBride said many of the dropouts suffer from substance abuse or are victims of a disparity in available mental health services.

"Sixty percent of our students go on to four-year colleges, and 19 percent to two-year colleges," McBride said. "But statistics can be deceiving. Many kids join the work force or the military."

Goffstown High School is unique in its approach to dropout prevention, offering alternative education programs in the morning and off-site technical training in the afternoon, McBride said. Even students who have been suspended from school are encouraged to keep up.

"Our suspension program allows us to get work to the kids who aren't in school, so that they don't fall behind," McBride said. "In addition to that, we try to see what we can do to prevent it from happening again."

McBride said heterogeneous classes allow students to opt for honors courses rather than be separated from their peers, and should a student fail a class, they cannot repeat it.

"Kids who fail a class don't retake it, because we've found 50 percent of the kids placed back in the same class just flunk again." he said. "There's no repeating a class. It's easy to look to your left and to your right and see people failing around you, and it becomes easier to fail en masse."

McBride said dropping out of high school is not a negative, so long as a student shows a willingness to continue to learn.

"I wish there wasn't such a stigma attached to dropping out because there's nothing the matter with working somewhere else for six months and coming back when you're ready," he said. "We should embrace the fact that students can learn in different ways."

Manchester High school West Principal Janice Thompson has learned to identify at-risk students and remedy the situation as early as possible. There are certain situations, however, where students seem beyond help.

"For a 14- or 15-year-old who has chronic truancy problems, raising the age won't help," she said. "The toughest kids to reach are the kids who are already disenfranchised before they get here. They're on the books (as students), but nothing's happening."

The 2004-05 dropout rate at West was 4.5 percent, or 110 students out of 2,141, which is up from the 2003-04 rate of 3.6 percent, or 82 students out of 2,115. In 2002-03, 107 out of 2,060, or 4.28 percent, of students dropped out.

Thompson said her support of the legislation varies on a student to- student basis. The legislation may work for some students, but is not a solution overall.

"There's no one time that kids drop out," she said. "Some don't come back over the summer, some leave midway through the second and fourth quarter, but some buckle down. As long as you meet them half way, students know you care."

Two main safety nets are in place for at-risk students, and both focus on helping students get credits that transfer back to the school.

One program, called the PASS program, is made up of vocational training and two high school courses, and is held daily at the Manchester School of Technology from 8 a'm. to noon.

"Some of our students do that for a year or two, and come back," said Thompson. "All the credits are transferable."

Another program is the Ombudsmen Program, a computer- based educational system, which is in its third year. It can accommodate up to 30 students per class, with three 180-minute sessions daily.

The state's proposed legislation is geared toward life after graduation, as well, its founders say. Lynch said the legislation will improve education in addition to the economy if implemented, and will prepare students for viable employment.

"The original drop out age was set at 16 in 1903," he said. "Back then, a student might leave school to work on the farm or at the mills, but that's not the case now."

The dropouts themselves only pay part of the cost, as nearly 80 percent of prisoners in America are high school dropouts, Lynch said, and those who drop out are twice as likely to be on welfare.

Teen pregnancy and crime rates are significantly higher among dropouts and adults between the ages of 25 and 34.

"For me, education is all about opportunity; providing kids with a good life, a good job or higher education. You can't get a job if you drop out." Lynch said. "Business owners have told me they won't hire anyone without a high school diploma. You're not even eligible for military service."

The bill will go before the state legislature in January. Pamela Walsh, a communications director for Lynch, said it has received strong bipartisan support.

"Dropout figures vary from year to year, but have been too high for too long," she said. "Right now, we're sending a message that you can get by if you drop out at 16, but that's not true anymore."

Despite the mixed reaction to the legislation, Lynch is optimistic that it will achieve the desired goals of motivating students to learn while ensuring they attend school.

"Some of these kids are mentally dropping out at age 14," he said. "I don't want to give up on our 16-year-old students, and I don't want them to give up on themselves.