Rennie Center report sheds light on strategies Massachusetts schools and districts are using to reduce their dropout rates.

(Cambridge, MA) – As Massachusetts educators celebrate a decrease in the statewide dropout rate, researchers at the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy shed light on strategies Massachusetts schools and districts are using to reduce their dropout rates.

Rennie Center report sheds light on strategies Massachusetts schools and districts are using to reduce their dropout rates.

(Cambridge, MA) – As Massachusetts educators celebrate a decrease in the statewide dropout rate, researchers at the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy shed light on strategies Massachusetts schools and districts are using to reduce their dropout rates.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), fewer than three percent of the state’s high school students dropped out during the 2008-2009 school year.  That is the first time the statewide dropout rate has dipped below three percent in the past decade.

Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester welcomed the decline in the dropout rate but noted that the educators’ work is not finished; he said educators must do more to give students all the support they need to complete their education.

The DESE report released Tuesday showed educators made impressive gains in reducing the dropout rate in several urban school districts, including Fall River, Lawrence, Everett, and Fitchburg.  In their report: Meeting the Challenge, Promising Practices for Reducing Drop-Out Rates in Massachusetts Schools and Districts, Rennie Center researchers address the question: "In schools that are reducing their dropout rates, what is working?" Including Fitchburg Public Schools, the Rennie Center report highlights strategies used in 11 high schools in 9 Massachusetts districts making progress.

The Rennie Center’s research revealed that strategies used by schools who have been successful in reducing the dropout rate include using data to identify students at-risk of dropping out; offering targeted interventions such as personalizing the learning environment; connecting high school to college and careers; providing alternatives to traditional high school; and forming collaborations and partnerships to bring in additional resources for students at-risk of dropping out.

The Rennie Center report also provides a series of considerations for district leaders including allowing autonomy for schools to try new dropout prevention programs, cultivating a consistent focus on at-risk students across schools, reaching out to disconnected youth who have dropped out or become truant, and sharing best practices from school to school.

To read the full report, click here.

About the Rennie Center: The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy is an independent, non-partisan education policy think tank whose mission is to develop a public agenda that informs and promotes significant improvement of public education in Massachusetts. We conduct research and host convenings on relevant education reform topics. Please visit our web site for more information: www.renniecenter.org.