By Sarah Nagem
snagem@salisburypost.com
Convincing students to stay in school, closing the achievement gap and recruiting good teachers are priorities for the Rowan-Salisbury School System, the superintendent said.
Dr. Judy Grissom addressed a crowd at the J.F. Hurley YMCA Monday morning at the school system’s second annual community report and breakfast.
“We are all about continuous improvement,” Grissom said.
During the 2007-08 school year, 380 Rowan-Salisbury students ó nearly 5.5 percent of high school students ó dropped out. That number was up from 300 dropouts the year before.
Grissom said schools are devoted to reducing the dropout rate.
As for math and end-of-grade test scores, she pointed to the schools’ more than 80 percent passing rate on the state’s ABC accountability standards. More than 50 percent of schools met the “high growth” standard.
The community often hears the negatives when it comes to test scores, Grissom said.
Despite improvements in the state accountability program, only 10 of the 34 Rowan-Salisbury schools met federal No Child Left Behind standards last school year.
“Even though our school system’s No. 1 priority is and will continue to be improving student achievement, our school system is about so much more than test scores,” Grissom said.
She highlighted ways schools are working to boost achievement. Some teachers have 21st century model classrooms, which are equipped with technology to be used in the curriculum.
During the last year, the Board of Education has re-examined the school system’s vision, mission and core beliefs. This month, the board approved a district improvement plan through 2010.
That plan calls for identifying at-risk students and tracking student dropouts, among other things.
It also lays out plans to recruit quality staff members.
“Recruiting, training and retaining teachers becomes more of a challenge each year as young people choose careers other than teaching,” Grissom said.
To keep those teachers ó and to operate each day, schools needs money. And Grissom said the school system has looked beyond traditional funding sources in the past year.
“We have not depended solely on state and local funding and have actively written several successful federal grants,” she said.
The bulk of the system’s budget ó 71 percent ó came from the state last school year. The federal government pitched in 8 percent, while the county provided 19 percent of the budget.
To supplement those funds, the school system received more than $1 million in state and local grant money, as well as federal grant money.
The school system got a $275,000 grant for after-school programs at Hanford Dole and North Rowan elementary schools. The system was also awarded a USDA fresh fruit and vegetable grant.
Recently, school leaders learned the system will receive $6 million over the next several years as part of a Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant.
The money will go toward addressing at-risk behaviors that sometimes lead to dropouts.
 During the breakfast, school leaders honored St. Markís Lutheran Church in China Grove with the Partners for Student Success Award.
The award is to recognize an outside group that helps students achieve.
St. Markís, led by the Rev. Greg Yeager, sponsored an after-school tutoring program for about 75 low-performing students, Grissom said. Last school year, 59 percent of the students in the program scored in the ěaverage growth category,î while 36 percent scored ěabove average,î she said.
ěStudents changed their attitudes from ëI canítí to ëI can,íî she said.
School leaders also honored Rowan Partners for Education for its work in the school system. The group set up committees to talk about issues like dropout and achievement rates, Grissom said. They also formed a store where teachers can get classroom supplies for free.