Durham schools want dropouts to return

DURHAM -- A little time can go a long way.

It took a few months for Derisha Baldwin, 18, to think about why she dropped out of Riverside High School last year -- she was discouraged about being behind -- and whether she was really motivated to go back.

"I was being big-headed about it," she said. "I hope to get back on track. I'm not afraid to make that first step."

Wednesday morning, Baldwin visited her old Riverside counselors and asked about trying again to get her diploma. More than 30 other students made similar efforts at a Durham Public Schools session held at the county's public library.

Bringing dropouts back to school is a high priority for Durham's public schools, and the topic has spurred much research and planning in recent years. A year ago, administrators published a plan to deal with the problem, including hosting fairs such as Wednesday's and using social workers to track down missing students.

The students could have new beginnings, they were told, if they were willing.

"The decision you've made to be here this morning is one of the best decisions you've made in your life," Superintendent Carl Harris told the students and their parents. "The only thing I ask of you is ... that you give us your greatest level of intent and focus."

At Wednesday's fair, it quickly became clear that it would take more than traditional means to get many of the students back to school. One teen, who carried her sleepy 2-year-old to the session on her shoulder, said she would need affordable child care. Others needed flexible schedules that allowed them to work part of the day, or even allowed them to go to school part time.

"We plan to follow up on every child," said Eunice Sanders, Durham's executive director of student services. "We'll do whatever it takes to get them back in school."

Baldwin learned that her path could change in as little as 24 hours. She arranged to go back to Riverside this morning to get a head start on the school year. By the time classes start Aug. 27, Baldwin can revisit some of the classes she failed when she left 11th grade and likely could earn those credits back.

A high school diploma could help the 11th-grader get a good job, so she can get out on her own and away from some of the family problems that have distracted her from studying, she said.

Sanders, who used to be the principal at Hillside High School, saw a few of her former students. Seeing them in this context was difficult, she said.

"It's like, 'What happened? How did we lose you?' " she said.

Concern for dropouts in today's competitive job market has been exacerbated by data showing the state lost 22,000 high-schoolers last year, a five-year peak.

Over the past five years, an average of 530 students have dropped out of Durham's public schools annually, according to the state Department of Public Instruction. Durham's dropout rate improved last year, but it's still the worst in the Triangle and worse than the state average.

It will be several months before school districts finalize their 2006-07 dropout numbers.

Parent Shewahn Lee said she was impressed by the level of support being offered by the schools at Wednesday's meeting, but she said persuading her daughter JaQuisha Daye, 16, remains a challenge.

"It seems like they have the help here, but she doesn't want the help," Lee said of her daughter.

Sanders said most of the students left the fair with the next step in mind. Some learned they needed as few as two months to earn a diploma.

"We pushed," Sanders said at the end of the fair, as the last few students left the library conference room. "Everyone who tried to get out that door, I made sure they had a plan."