Newspaper Page Text
8-A
... . The Summerville News, Thursday, October 8, 1987
Che Su i B
mmeruille New
Please complete the following questions and put your response in the enclosed postage-paid envelope. While results
of the survey will be published and shared with school officials, your identity will not be known to the newspaper
or anyone else. It is completely confidential. However, the results could be very helpful in determining the causes
of Chattooga County’s high school dropout rate.
Pr&:nt NTS YOB Tappa Out D 8 BEIN 1 i
PT T O L O T BRI LT
R N R e o s e s
) T Tt 0k (0 DR = PRI BUION) e et
e s ik i e SOt it
Bl e e e T e L L eL e L
D 6 Yon Own A Cor Whelh You Dronped OUtP. . io T 8 it I
If You Had Not Owned A Car, Would You Have Dropped Out? ____ Yes No
Did You Have A Job When You Dropped Out? eAt N s e e i B
R R oseeTß OF . i i e i etk LTP
If You Had Not Had A Job, Would You Have Dropped Out? =~ Yes __ ______ ___ No
When You Dropped Out, Were You Involved In Any Extra-Curricular Activity (Such As Band, Football, Clubs
R T B Y eR T Oi bt
BT WL RO T D e R s i S
Did You Have Problems With
School Authorities, or Law Enforcement Officials
If So, What? bl v Bl e Tl e e L Re i
Were Your Grades ___ Good, _____ Fair, or _____Bad When You Dropped Out? (Barely Passing) (Failing)
Did Any Teacher Or School Official Try To Keep You From Quiting School? Yes - No
If You Answered “No,” What Would Have Been Your Decision If Someone Had Talked With You About Dropping
e s e L e
If You Answered “Yes” To That Question And Decided To Drop Out Of School Anyway, Why Did You Quit?
Do You Now Regret Dropping Out? Yes No
W L e e e e Rot
Newspaper Begins
Survey Of Dropouts
Study Takes Aim At Root Of Issue
from front page
those who respond to the
survey, said David Espy.
In addition to providing
answers to crucial (fiuestions,
the survey will also give
dropouts a chance to ‘‘sound
off’’ private‘lf' about the
reasons they dropped out of
school and how their lives have
been affected by that decision,
Toles said.
The newspaper will compile
results of the survey and share
them with the county school
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Across From Ford Dealer
North Commerce St. - White Building
system, the education commit
tee of the Chattooga Chamber
of Commerce ants an educa
tional task force that is suppos
ed to be established in the
county this fall, said Winston
Espy.
““The views, reasons and
opinions of students who drop
ped out of school will be
valuable in developing effective
programs for reducing the
dropout rate during the coming
years in Chattooga County,”
according to David Espy.
‘“Many viewpoints need to be
considtared. of course, but it
would be absurd not to seek
out those students who decid
ed to quit classes before get
ting a diploma.”
VALUABLE
Hair indicated that the
survey will be valuable to coun
ty school officials in determin
ing specific reasons for past
dropouts and in convincing
potential dropouts to stay in
school this year and in future
years.
Owners of The News and
Hair asked those who receive
the survey to complete it as
quickly as possible — on the
same Xay it is received if feasi
ble. ‘‘Studies have shown that
the longer a person waits to fill
out a questionnaire, the less
likely he is to complete it and
then mail it back,’” said David
Espy.
The more completed ques
tionnaires received from the
survey, the more validity the
study will have, he added.
SPECIFICS
The survey asks those who
quit classes for specific reasons
why they dropped out of
school. It questions them
about their employment
status, whether they owned a
car, whether their grades were
good or poor, if they had pro-
Confidential Dropout Survey
blems with law enforcement or
school officials before they
dropped out and whether they
were involved in any extra
curricular activities. ,
It also asks the dropouts
for their opinion on what the
community arents and
schools should Jt)) to reduce the
dro&?ut rate.
hether the parents of a
f)erson who quit school recent
y were also dropouts is the
subject of another series of
questions.
The questionnaire asks
about the weekly pay, home
ownership and vehicle owner
ship of dropouts since they quit
school.
QUICKLY
“All we ask is that the
survely form be completed
guicky and accurately and
ropped in the mail,” said
Winston Es;Fy. *“This is a good
county and we want it to
become even better in the years
ahead. But unless we admit we
have a problem, define the
sßecifics of that problem and
then develop solutions, we
won't be able to progress as we
should.”
‘“‘We apPreciate the
cooFeration of Mr. Hair, the
staff at CHS and the county
schools in this pr:f'ect," the
newspaper’s general manager
and pugl.iasher said.
: : N
Has Dropping Out Of School Before Graduation Affected Your Life? L i A 9
I Ye,” How Haa It Affected YouP e e
e A
R I e s
What Do You Think Schools Should Do To Reduce The Dropout Rate? ________ ——— ———
SR B N sD e B odioblin e N
RN e
CrE e e S T T e ik o
What Do You Think The Community As A Whole Should Do To Reduce The Dropout TSP il
CoR R e B e oA s
BRI R e e L e ieom i
gertae e e R S R R LS Rl e
S A T P e e e
What Do You Think Parents Should Do To Reduce The Dropout Rate?
AR R s L e Rl O G D o
Se B e R L i S
bTL B S eoo eAS AM S WA SVB MBI 4T s R
See i A
Were Your Perents Dropouts? .~ Father .. Mother ____________ Neither
If One Or Both Parents Were Dropouts, Did That Make Your Decision To Quit School
Easier Harder Made No Difference?
Did __Either, Or __Both Your Parents Try To Talk You Into Staying In School Until Graduation? __Yes —No
Have You, Or Would You, Insist That Your Children Stay In School Until They Graduate? ___Yes ___No
Why? L e
Is Yotir Spossse (Husband, Wike) ADropomt? . .. . === Yes Cote e e
Have You Taken Any Adult Education Courses Since You Dropped Out? _______ Yes No
Have You Tried To Obtain A GED Certiticatepr -~ ..~ ' . Yes No
Were Xou Successfaly. ==2o .o U Yesor 000 0 4 iNo (I Yes” To Previots Question).
What Is Your Weekly Pay? $ __ = Do You Own Your Own Home? ______ Yes No
SRA o e L Mobile Home? (Check One)
What Js Fhe Model Year Of Your Can(s)p o v ive sao 00 0 eo Sl B
Have You Been In Trouble With Law Enforcement Authorities Since You Dropped Out? Yes No
Stay-In-School Plans Approved
The education committee of
the Chattooga County
Chamber of Commerce Tues
day night decided to ask the
organization's board to ap
firove two projects designed to
elp reduce the county’s school
dropout rate.
(ghairman Will Hair receiv
ed approval to ask the board to
okay a grant application
designed to encourage young
ple who have quit school to
g:coome involved in the General
Education Diploma (GED)
proEram.
air said the program
would be %perated throug%: the
current Chamber-sponsored
Jobs Training Partnership
Training Act project.
RESOLUTION
The committee also agreed
to ask the Chamber board for
épproval to mail a resolution to
hattooga industries and
businesses encouraging a part
nership between schools and
business. Industrialists and
b}lsiniismian :l(l)uld be %sk%dl to
sign the le non-binding
resolution, w%ficg’is designed to
encourage employers to work
closely with the schools in
preventing droi)outs.
The resolution asks
employers to encourage
youngsters to stay in school
until graduation be¥ore seeking
fulltime work. It also asks in
dustries and businesses to con
tact the schools to determine a
prospective employee’s educa
tional status if the jobseeker is
19 years old or {ounger. The
resolution asks business and
industry to encourage
employees who have not com
pleted high school to seek a
GED.
Hair opened the meeting by
discussing the county system's
drogout rate, which is the
highest in Georgia. He also
provided committee members
with statistics on the dropout
trend in the county and the job
or educational history of the
1985 and 1986 senior c{asses at
Chattooga High.
The dgropout Eroblem didn't
happen overnight, he said.
40 PERCENT
The county now graduates
about 40 percent of the
students who enter
kindergarten, Hair said, while
the figure was only about 18
percent in 1960.
I think our dropout rate is
roughly between 55 and 60 per
cent — well over 50 percent,”
Hair told the committee.
Don Hayes, Chattooga
school superintendent, said
that the system had been coun
ting some students as dropouts
more than one time.
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STAY-IN-SCHOOL COORDINATOR’S FIRST DAY
Clarence Gilley Began Work Monday
Hair said that was the case
in some instances. ‘‘We've
made tremendous strides but
the economy has moved on out
and left us,” he added.
PROGRAMS
The vocational supervisor
at Chattooga High outlined
several programs designed to
help re£xce the drcifout rate.
They include a ‘“‘Homework
Hotflne” scheduled to begin on
Oct. 19, as well as a high school
tutorial program.
Superintendent Ha{is said
the system hopes to begin a
remediation program, similar
to the successful summer
school program. Around 150
students attended the school
and paid SSO each for each five
quarter hours. Students who
Egy to take the classes seem to
more serious about learning,
Hair noted.
Clarence Gilley, the recent
ifln hired stay-in-school coor
inator for the system, grlans to
attend a conference on dropout
pr(;grams in Knoxville, Tenn.,
in November, Hayes and Hair
said. The Chattooga programs
are being financeg by an Ap
palachian Regional Commis
sion (ARC) grant, Hair said,
and the conference will be spon
sored by the ARC.
COOPERATION
‘‘Really, what we're looking
for is cooperation between the
emglfiyer and the schools,
said Hair in discussing the pro
gosed resolution with the
hamber committee.
“In a sense, we are the task
force, for the moment here,”
Hair replied when asked when
a countywide task force would
be formed to fight the dropout
problem.,
The representatives of a
local industrial firm and a fast
food restaurant appeared
somewhat skeptical that not
hiring dropougs would help
solve the problem. Many of the
students would simply go to
work in nearby counties, they
said. Plus, not every employee
needs a high school diploma to
Perform certain jobs effective
y, they said.
PREGNANCY
The teen-age pregnancy
problem in the county and its
impact on the dropout rate was
also discussed briefly by the
committee. Many dropouts in
volve singleparent homes, said
Rodney Allred, assistant prin
cipal at Chattooga High.
One industriafist sugfiested
asking businesses to ‘‘a opt a
dropout.” Hair said such a pro
fram would likely be more ef
ective if it involved potential
dropouts.