10 PERCENT OF STUDENTS DROP-OUTS (GETTING A DROP ON DROP OUTS: PART 2)

The dropout rate in Cape Girardeau schools was more than 10 percent last year. Central High School principal Randie Fidler says there are a number of reasons students are choosing work days or lazy days over school days.

"A lot of students are just having a hard time deciding what they want to do," Fidler said. "They are losing their direction, and they wind up dropping out."

Students drop out in a number of ways. Some contact the office and officially drop out. Others simply stop attending classes.

Fidler said school officials make every effort to keep a student in school. Calls are made to parents if a student doesn't come to school, he said, but often no one is home to account for the student's absence.

"We have a policy that the parent has to contact us if a student is dropping out," said Fidler. "But often they don't even know what their child is doing."

If a Cape Girardeau student misses five consecutive days without contacting the school, a letter is sent stating the student will be dropped from school after a certain date. If no contact is made with the school after that point, the student is counted as a drop-out.

Fidler said students lose their motivation to stay in school, and parents lose control of the situation. "It's a little bit of everyone giving up," he said. "We're looking to the parents for help, and the parents throw up their hands and feel like they've gone as far as they can."

Students also leave school because of economic concerns, said Fidler. "It would amaze people how many students in high school live in some form out on their own," he said. "One of the problems in Cape is the job market is so good out here, students can get jobs. Students don't realize that it may look good right now, but it won't give them what they need to support a family later on."

Fidler said many Cape Girardeau students under 19 years old usually return to high school at least once. Others opt for an alternative form of education, like the Alternative Education Program or the School-to-Work program, he said.

Some students succeed in these programs, he said, because they offer a different atmosphere and more one-on-one attention than a mainstream education.

"There are always going to be some students who have behavioral problems," said Fidler, "or who just don't like school. These are the students who usually drop out and stay out.

Fidler said schools need to work with parents to keep students in school through graduation. We have to let them know they aren't as mature as they think they are, he said.

"We try to emphasize to them that it's not a right, it's a privilege to get a free education," Fidler said. "It's hard because we just have so many students maturing at so many different stages."