Success Stories > Dropout Reduction in Manatee County

Dropout rates plummet, grad rates soar
in Manatee County

BRADENTON, Fla. - A few years ago, Manatee County Public Schools faced a serious dropout problem. Annually, the district had a graduation rate of only 56 percent, ranking 59th out of 67 Florida school districts for the highest dropout rates.

Pressure to increase graduation rates and keep students in school only escalated after state officials chose Manatee County Public Schools to participate in a pilot program aimed at raising the compulsory age for school attendance from 16 to 18.

The district knew they needed help - EdOptions™ came to the rescue.

Manatee County chose the company's Novel™ program to help "make a dent in lowering the dropout rate and increasing the graduation rate," says Mike McCann, supervisor of dropout prevention, alternative education, and truancy programs for the district.

Completely Web-based, Novel is part of the company's Stars Suite™ of online learning tools and provides students with greater course choices and flexibility while encouraging and enhancing the student-teacher relationship in the classroom.

Dropout rates fell by more than 60%, and graduation rates climbed from 56.2% to more than 75 %.

Beginning in 1999, Manatee County Public Schools targeted students at risk of dropping out, those who had already dropped out, and students with high truancy rates to use the innovative program.

Manatee County Public Schools
Bradenton, Florida
Previous dropout rate: 7.8%
Post dropout rate: 1.3%

For more info contact:

EdOptions
1-866-243-7460

They also offered the product to students who were young parents, as well those who were home or hospital-bound.

The results were dramatic.

In eight years of using the program, dropout rates fell by more than 60 percent, and graduation rates climbed from 56 percent to nearly 79 percent.

Once one of Florida's lowest-ranking districts due to its high dropout rates, Manatee County has now become one of the state's top districts.

In 2007, the Florida Department of Education reported that Manatee County's dropout rate was only 1.3 percent, ranking them fifth out of 67 school districts in the state.

McCann attributes a major portion of these improvements to the Novel program.

"I congratulate your company for a product that is providing a service to our students far beyond what we anticipated it could accomplish," McCann said.