By By BETTY MITCHELL GRAY
Staff writer
Beaufort County Schools had one of the highest dropout rates of any school system in the state last year, according to a statewide report on dropouts, suspensions and school crime and violence.
The system reported that 140 students dropped out of school in 2008-2009, up five students from 2007-2008, for a rate of 6 percent, up slightly from 5.76 percent the previous year.
“That’s 140 students whom I am very concerned about,” said schools Superintendent Don Phipps in an interview Monday. “There is a child, a family and a history behind every one of those.”
The number of suspensions also were up for Beaufort County Schools in 2008-2009 over the previous year, but the rate of crime and acts of violence last year was down, according to the report.
Those rates were reported last week when state education officials gave the State Board of Education an annual update on dropouts, suspensions and school crime and violence.
Phipps said he hopes the school system can use that information to determine where students go astray so it can work out ways to keep them in school.
“I don’t think dropouts happen at age 16,” he said.
Reversing the dropout rate for Beaufort County students is one of Phipps’ top priorities for the system.
With dropout rates closely tied to academic performance and attendance, Phipps said, he wants to implement closer monitoring of students’ academic performances throughout the year so schools can intervene before a student gets too far behind. Phipps hopes to have in place strong mentors who can work with students in danger of leaving school.
He also hopes to talk with students who dropped out of school to determine what led to their decisions to leave school.
“I want to find out how the school has failed them,” he said. “If it was a breakdown in our services, we want to correct them.”
Phipps plans to involve community members in finding a solution to the problem.
Statewide, 19,184 public school students dropped out last year, for a rate of 4.27 percent, a decrease from the year before when 22,234 students dropped out for a rate of 4.97 percent.
Dropout rates for other school systems in the area were as follows: Craven County, 3.61 percent; Hyde County, 2.97 percent; Martin County, 3.30 percent; Pamlico County, 2.43 percent; Pitt County, 6.42 percent; Tyrrell County, 1.10 percent; and Washington County, 3.02 percent.
School systems that reported the lowest high-school dropout rates were Burke County, Carteret County, Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Clay County, Dare County, Elkin City, Hertford County, Newton-Conover City, Pamlico County and Tyrrell County. Dropout rates for these schools ranged from a low of 1.1 percent for Tyrrell County to a high of 2.43 percent for Pamlico County.
Besides Beaufort County, school systems with the highest high-school dropout rates were Cleveland County Hickory City, Jackson County, Kannapolis City, Madison County, Pitt County, Roanoke Rapids City, Swain County and Vance County. Dropout rates for these counties ranged from a high of 6.90 percent for Roanoke Rapids City to a low of 5.98 percent for Cleveland County.
Public schools in North Carolina track high-school completion. They tally the number of ninth-grade students who earn diplomas four years later. The state also tracks dropout rates, which show how many students leave each year and why. Low attendance is cited most often as the cause of students dropping out from school. Enrollment in a community college is also cited by large numbers of students.
Crime and acts of violence
The state’s public schools saw a slight decrease in crime and acts of violence last year, down to 11,116 statewide from 11,276 the previous year, the report notes.
State law requires school systems to report 17 specific crimes and acts of violence, 10 of which are considered dangerous and violent, to the State Board of Education. Possession of a controlled substance in violation of the law was the offense most often cited act of crime and violence — at 4,826 — by school systems. It is followed by possession of a weapon other than a firearm or explosive — at 3,752.
Beaufort County Schools recorded 34 so-called “reportable” acts last year for a rate of 16.08 acts per 1,000 students. This was down from the previous year when the schools reported 40 acts for a rate of 19.18 per 1,000.
Rates for other area school systems last year were as follows: Craven County, 14.01; Hyde County, none; Martin County, 7.02; Pamlico County, 12.48; Pitt County, 15.33; Tyrrell County, 21.62, and Washington County, 3.24. Currituck County, at 40.33 acts per 1,000 students, had the highest rate of “reportable” acts of crime and violence of any school system statewide. Hyde County was one of seven systems statewide reporting no crime or acts of violence.
Suspensions and expulsions
Based on the data reported by the state’s public schools, the number of out-of-school short-term suspensions, those of one to 10 days, given to students decreased last year to 293,453 in 2008-2009 from 308,010 in 2007-2008. Lesser offenses committed by students are often dealt with using short-term suspensions.
About one in 10 North Carolina students receives at least one out-of-school short-term suspension each year. When looking at high-school students only, this ratio rises to one of six students.
High schools reported a decline in long-term suspensions, those of 11 days or more, from the previous year. There were 2,448 high-school long-term suspensions, a 29.3 percent decrease. More serious offenses usually result in long-term suspensions.
The number of expulsions in 2008-2009 was reported at 116. 
Beaufort County Schools reported 2,284 short-term suspensions, 15 long-term suspensions and no expulsions last year. This number is up slightly from the previous year when the system reported 2,272 short-term suspensions, six long-term suspensions and no expulsions.
Phipps said he plans to look at alternatives to out-of-school suspensions such as in-school suspensions that address bad behavior before keeping students from attending school.
“Generally, we want to work with the student to improve behavior, but at the same time we have to keep the building at an appropriate level of security,” he said.
Area school systems reported suspensions last year as follows: Craven County, 3,400 short-term suspension, 29, long-term suspensions and 13 expulsions; Hyde County, 100 short-term suspensions, no long-term suspensions and no expulsions; Martin County, 1,504 short-term suspensions, two long-term suspensions and no expulsions; Pamlico County, 451 short-term suspensions, six long-term suspensions and no expulsions; Pitt County, 8,680 short-term suspensions, 170 long-term suspensions and five expulsions; Tyrrell County, 100 short-term suspensions, four long-term suspensions and no expulsions; Washington County, 405 short-term suspensions, no long-term suspensions and no expulsions.