Success Stories > Dropout Reduction in Manatee County

BRADENTON, Fla. - In 1999, Manatee County Public Schools (MCPS) faced a serious dropout problem. The district had an annual 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 MCPS 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.

MCPS chose the company's Stars Suite® 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, Stars Suite® offers Novel™ core curricula for grades 6-12; HS Prep™, a content mastery tool for rising 9th graders; and Testpak™, a remediation tool for high stakes testing. This online educational solution provides students with greater course choices and flexibility while encouraging and enhancing the student-teacher relationship in the classroom.

Manatee County Public Schools
Bradenton, Florida
Previous dropout rate: 7.8%
Post dropout rate: 3.6%

For more info contact:

EdOptions
1-866-243-7460

In 1999, MCPS began targeted students at risk of dropping out, those who had already dropped out, and students with high truancy rates to use the innovative program. The program was also offered to students who were young parents, as well as those who were homebound or hospitalized.

The results were dramatic.

In 2009, the Florida Department of Education reported that MCPS's dropout rate had fallen to 3.6 percent. In the first eight years of using the program, dropout rates decreased by more than 60 percent, and graduation rates climbed from 56 percent to nearly 79 percent, where they have held steady for the past three years.

McCann attributes a major portion of these improvements to EdOption's Stars Suite® 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.