The Rochester City School District is the only one of New York’s big five districts, which consists of New York City, Yonkers, Syracuse, and Buffalo, to have its graduation rate drop.
Rochester’s graduation rate for students who entered the 9th grade in 2009 and graduated in June 2013 was 43 percent, down from 43.4 percent for students in 2008 cohort. Buffalo’s students made the biggest gain at 53.4 percent, up from 46.8 percent for the students in the 2008 cohort. The statewide graduation rate increased slightly to nearly 75 percent.
Students need to pass eight Regents exams with a score of 65 or higher to graduate with a Regents diploma in New York.
This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2014.
The more we segregate by economic class and race the greater the consequences. This should not become a scapegoating of the Rochester school district. Greater forces are at work. Ones that much of the rest of the country address better than Rochester.
Again…another year has passed and the graduation rate has declined even further. This has been going on for 30 years and nothing has changed or will change. It is time to make real effective changes. Perhaps the most important change may be jobs for Rochester Residents. The next change would be learning effective parenting skills.
If students are entering the 9th grade without the proper basic skills to graduate in four years then we need to look at this problem and start childhood intervention practices very early. I am not saying that teachers should become parents to their students but that interactions with parents be the focus.
It is time for Mayoral Control or at least a vote on the school board to determine how millions of dollars are to be spent in the “best” ways possible to improve graduation rates. And finally we need to cut back on administration and give teachers and principles at their specific school locations the power to make their own decisions as to how to make students more successful and graduate in the four year period.
Craig R. Moffitt
It seems like an obvious question is: what is Buffalo doing differently than Rochester? Aren’t their demographics in terms of poverty, unemployment, single parent families, etc. fairly similar to Rochester? I’m sure someone is asking this question and coming up with answers — it would seem to be important to know what the answers are.
Very limited article. It mentions a regents diploma, but provides no perspective as to how many RCSd students receive one. It also does not mention that 5.1% are considered to be college ready, down from 5.8% last year (a 12% decline). Pretty soon, none of them will be college ready. And yet some continue to make excuses for a failed system. Time to move to charter schools. They had a 70% graduation rate! which continues a trend of improvement. Students win, the union loses. Sounds like a winning proposal.
I’m with the roch musician on this. The article would have more bite if the author would’ve done a quick google search to find out. Something is going on. I believe it’s gross dysfunction in CO. They need 10 people to turn a page in a book, and even get that wrong. Look at the modernization fiasco. No connection/ communication between the city and school. And no journalist poking around for answers. I kind of wish Jean Claude Bizzard was still here so that Rachael Barnhart would be interested enough to expose all the shim shamming ( my own word) that’s going on.
I don’t know why everyone is so concerned – maybe ya’ll didn’t hear – football is back at Monroe High School!! smh