The NC Department of Public Instruction released their annual report on school crime and violence, suspensions, expulsions, and dropouts. Notable statistics reported by DPI include,
– The number of acts of crime and violence dropped from 7.85 acts per 1,000 students to 7.59 acts per 1,000 students. Total acts went from 11,276 in 2007-08 to 11,116 in 2008-09.
– Out-of-school and in-school suspensions decreased and the number of expulsions stayed the same.
– The dropout rate decreased to 4.27 percent from 4.97 percent in the prior year. Eighty-four percent of all school districts demonstrated a decrease in dropout rates. A total of 19,184 high school students dropped out in 2008-09.
The 0.26 (acts per 1,000 students) decrease in crime and violence is good news. The 0.7 decrease in the dropout rate is also positive.
Remember that the causes of the decreases are not known. On that note, one wonders if the poor job market convinced potential dropouts to stay in school. Who knows?
