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State's High School Dropout Rate: One of the Highest in the Country

By KFBB News Team

Story Created: Jul 28, 2010 at 7:20 PM MST

Story Updated: Jul 28, 2010 at 7:20 PM MST

A new report says Montana has one of the highest high school dropout rates in the county.

The New Kids Count report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation says 9% of Montana teens, ages 16 to 19, have dropped out of high school.

This puts Montana in a tie for the 44th worst ranking in the nation.

Helena Superintendent Bruce Messinger says an application for an almost $15 million dollar Graduation Matters Montana Grant was submitted today.

Messinger also adds that this year, more intense summer school programs were offered.

Helena School District Superintendent Bruce Messinger says “I think as a school district and school districts across our state and across the country we need to continue to find ways to engage students in more meaningful activities, address their needs at an earlier age so they don’t find themselves at age 16, 17, 18 without the skills and the understandings to be successful because if they aren’t successful and have trouble, I mean we can lose them pretty quickly at that age.”

Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau is also proposing to the 2011 Legislature that students should be required to stay in school until they are 18 years-old.

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Vikki said on Tuesday, Oct 11 at 8:49 PM

They don’t understand why school is important until they get to that moment in life where they say, “I screwed up.” That’s possibly why we have a high suicidal rate, too…So if you’re going to change the rates, you’re going to have to change their lifestyle, too.

Vikki said on Tuesday, Oct 11 at 8:46 PM

Another reason is the problems back home – half of the kids in the schools go home to alcoholic or drug abusing parents that are holding the family up by per cap and a check from a fast-food joint or some other job. If the student is going to live in that environment, he might as well do the same as his parents, parent, or legal guardian. And then, there are the peers. I’ve seen this more than once; the student goes to school to fool the parents into thinking that they’re going, but they meet their friends at the beginning of school and walk off from it to do something at one of the peer’s house or at a drop-out’s house. I myself have no idea why they do that, but all I can think of is that they would rather either get high, drunk, or whatever it is they do, than mull over numbers, words, or anything of the like.

Vikki said on Tuesday, Oct 11 at 8:43 PM

Well, coming straight from high school (currently in college right now) I can see this from a student perspective. I agree with you, Mr. Betzen, on the motivation part, but it's pretty hard with the Native American students living on the reservations. If you're going to motivate kids, you're going to have to motivate them from the inside out -- from the home to the school. I went to school in Hardin, so most of the population there is Native American. I myself am a bit Native American, not much, but it’s a ranking system there – if you’re enough Native American, you can hang out with the Native American kids, if not, you’re stuck with the Caucasian. It’s not horribly segregated, but that’s how it is. But even our parking lot is segregated, and we actually brought it to light this year; Native Americans on one side, Caucasian on the other. So, for most schools, it might be the racism.

buck said on Monday, Jun 20 at 8:33 AM

What state has the highest drop out in the State of NC and THE USA

Anonymous said on Thursday, Jun 16 at 5:36 AM

We need to HELP them to not drop out to stay in school nd they schools can help by making a day care while they in classes so they can back to school!

Anonymous said on Thursday, Mar 3 at 12:54 PM

this is popo

Anonymous said on Tuesday, Jan 11 at 10:34 AM

Dont drop out! (:

Kevin Oland said on Thursday, Jul 29 at 8:31 PM

What state has the lowest dropout rate?

Bill Betzen said on Wednesday, Jul 28 at 11:55 PM

Dropout Prevention starts with motivation. Motivating students can be better done with something more valuable than money: a vision of their own futures with a good education. School culture must change! Students must want to stay in school for the right reasons, not because the classroom is an effective detention facility! Not only students, but all school staff must achieve a more active focus on the future. Students must be focused on their own futures in as concrete and physical a way as is possible. They can then better envision the value of education. To achieve this future focus a Dallas middle school started the School Archive Project in 2005. It is a 10-year time-capsule and 10-year class reunion/mentoring project. It costs about one dollar per child. Dropout rates are being cut in half! It's now in 6 Dallas schools. See www.studentmotivation.org.  The Archive Project is free to use, we only ask that all improvements developed by using it be shared, so we all benefit.

buck said on Wednesday, Jul 28 at 8:35 PM

Think that might have something to do with the 5 to 7% rate of kids in foster care? National average is 1%. This State is a mess, the people need to take it back!

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