Wednesday, April 23, 2014

MA Schools with the Lowest Dropout Rates Enroll High Percentages of Low Income, Blakc & Hispanic/Latino Students

An article recently appearing in the The Atlantic titled Segregation Now discussed how 60 years after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, separate but equal schooling is reappearing in the Tuscaloosa, AL public school system. In the article, Nikole Hannah-Jones writes:
"High-poverty, segregated black and Latino schools account for the majority of the roughly 1,400 high schools nationwide labeled “dropout factories”—meaning fewer than 60 percent of the students graduate. School officials often blame poor performance on the poverty these kids grow up in. But most studies conclude that it’s the concentration of poor students in the same school that hurts them the most."

In Massachusetts, there are 42 schools that currently could be considered 'dropout factories' based on the criteria of having a graduation rate of less than 60%

School
City
2013 4 yr. Grad Rate
% Low Income
East Boston High
Boston
58.0%
76.0%
Jeremiah E. Burke
Boston
56.8%
79.7%
City on a Hill Charter
Boston
53.4%
86.7%
Wareham Cooperative
Wareham
52.7%
53.8%
Fitchburg Alt. Ed
Fitchburg
51.6%
61.5%
The English High
Boston
51.5%
87.2%
International High
Lawrence
48.5%
92.7%
Gateway to College
Ralph C Mahar
48.0%
4.7%
Boston International
Boston
45.5%
77.4%
High School Science-Tech
Springfield
45.0%
81.8%
Charlestown High
Boston
42.2%
87.5%
Edison Academy
Brockton
39.7%
84.9%
Dean Vocational Tech
Holyoke
39.3%
92.2%
Boston Adult Academy
Boston
36.6%
76.9%
Dorchester Adult Academy
Boston
36.5%
82.7%
High School of Commerce
Springfield
35.8%
80.6%
Resiliency Prep
Fall River
34.7%
91.3%
Gtr. Egleston Community
Boston
33.7%
91.4%
Horace Mann - Schl Deaf
Boston
33.3%
91.9%
Liberty Prep
Springfield
33.3%
81.2%
Springfield High School
Springfield
31.7%
81.5%
Goddard Alternative
Brockton
30.8%
96.2%
School for Exceptional Studies
Lawrence
30.0%
94.3%
Gardner Academy
Gardner
27.8%
70.3%
Trinity Day Academy
New Bedford
27.3%
70.7%
Springfield Public Day
Springfield
26.8%
87.4%
Seacoast Day
Revere
24.7%
89.4%
Whaling City Jr/Sr
New Bedford
24.2%
84.8%
Community Academy
Boston
23.1%
82.1%
Gateway to College
Springfield
21.7%
77.1%
High School Learning Ctr
Lawrence
20.5%
81.4%
Fecteau-Leary Jr/Sr
Lynn
20.0%
89.9%
Full Circle
Somerville
20.0%
91.1%
William McKinley
Boston
18.6%
94.0%
Phoenix Charter Academy
Chelsea
18.3%
87.6%
Boston Day & Evening Charter
Boston
16.7%
84.8%
BB Russell Alt
Brockton
15.8%
92.2%
Salem Community Charter
Salem
15.4%
97.7%
Brockton Champion
Brockton
15.3%
70.1%
Haverhill Alternative
Haverhill
12.5%
95.9%
Lowell Middlesex Charter
Lowell
10.4%
79.8%
Chicopee Academy
Chicopee
7.3%
94.3%

The average low income rate at these schools based on the 2013-14 enrollment data is 82.3%; the range was 4.7% to 97.7% with Gateway to College School in Ralph C Mahar being the major outlier. At the district level, there are three public school systems that fall into this category as well (Holyoke, 53.8%; Springfield, 54.9%; and New Bedford, 59%) in addition to the charter schools listed above which the state also categorizes as single-school districts.


Looking at the enrollment of black and Hispanic/Latino students, these students make up a high percentage of the populations at the schools on this list.


School
2013 4 yr. 
Grad Rate
% African Amer./Black
% Hispanic/
Latino
East Boston High
58.0%
66.4%
13.2%
Jeremiah E. Burke
56.8%
75.9%
20.1%
City on a Hill Charter
53.4%
65.0%
30.4%
Wareham Cooperative
52.7%
6.7%
3.8%
Fitchburg Alt. Ed
51.6%
3.4%
42.5%
The English High
51.5%
41.8%
51.0%
International High
48.5%
0.2%
98.5%
Gateway to College
48.0%
4.7%
7.8%
Boston International
45.5%
46.7%
47.2%
High School Science-Tech
45.0%
18.7%
69.4%
Charlestown High
42.2%
41.9%
30.4%
Edison Academy
39.7%
71.0%
9.2%
Dean Vocational Tech
39.3%
1.5%
91.1%
Boston Adult Academy
36.6%
64.6%
28.3%
Dorchester Adult Academy
36.5%
68.8%
20.4%
High School of Commerce
35.8%
24.4%
65.7%
Resiliency Prep
34.7%
10.4%
26.8%
Gtr. Egleston Community
33.7%
37.7%
52.6%
Horace Mann - Schl Deaf
33.3%
36.0%
41.4%
Liberty Prep
33.3%
12.5%
65.6%
Springfield High School
31.7%
26.2%
60.0%
Goddard Alternative
30.8%
45.3%
13.2%
School for Exceptional Studies
30.0%
4.6%
82.5%
Gardner Academy
27.8%
0.0%
2.2%
Trinity Day Academy
27.3%
9.8%
24.4%
Springfield Public Day
26.8%
36.2%
51.1%
Seacoast Day
24.7%
6.2%
52.1%
Whaling City Jr/Sr
24.2%
20.2%
37.4%
Community Academy
23.1%
77.2%
16.0%
Gateway to College (Springfield)
21.7%
22.9%
601.0%
High School Learning Ctr
20.5%
1.8%
94.0%
Fecteau-Leary Jr/Sr
20.0%
19.7%
43.3%
Full Circle
20.0%
21.4%
35.7%
William McKinley
18.6%
49.1%
35.0%
Phoenix Charter Academy
18.3%
25.9%
64.8%
Boston Day & Evening Charter
16.7%
48.6%
35.3%
BB Russell Alt
15.8%
70.3%
14.1%
Salem Community Charter
15.4%
7.0%
46.5%
Brockton Champion
15.3%
41.2%
19.6%
Haverhill Alternative
12.5%
10.2%
38.8%
Lowell Middlesex Charter
10.4%
2.0%
38.4%
Chicopee Academy
7.3%
6.6%
55.7%


The average percent of black and Hispanic/Latino students combined at these schools is 71.1% based on the most recent data (the average for black students is 29.8% and 54.2% for Hispanic/Latino students).

All data taken from: www.doe.mass.edu