While Governor Dan Malloy touted a record-high state graduation rate the other day, the state’s largest city still lags way behind. CT Post reporter Linda Conner Lambeck has more:
While Connecticut’s overall high school graduation rate inched up to 87.2 percent for the Class of 2015, Bridgeport’s performance declined, placing the city last among state school districts…
Bridgeport’s 63.6 percent graduation rate for the Class of 2015–a sharp drop from the 71.5 for the Class of 2014–appears to give it the lowest four-year graduation rate among school districts in the state.
Interim Schools Superintendent Fran Rabinowitz said she was not surprised by the drop and attributes it largely to stopping students in Twilight, an after-school alternative program, from “gaming the system.”
Full story here.
I will say this, the dropout rate dropping by 7.5% tells me we need to get rid of the super and all the top administrators NOW. We also need to elect a totally new BOE as they are doing absolutely nothing but arguing and making fools of themselves, the kids be damned. We have three of these people who took an oath and who were entrusted with our children wanting to serve in other offices. Baker is already doing that and Pereira and the president now want to do it.
I want to know how this board can face Bpt parents at their meetings. They are all phonies every damned one of them. Walk into a kindergarten class today and count the kids and subtract four out of every ten and that’s how many will graduate high school. To ALL our politicians, look at what you ALL have done to the kids of Bridgeport. SHAME ON YOU ALL.
Andy. Where are the comments of the Queen of Education? Will she add this achievement to her list while she runs for office? Worked to preserve the rights to elect BOE. Fought to have elected BOE re-instated. Dropout rate increasing? She has been involved with BPT education/politics since 2009. Part of the problem, no?
Yes, most definitely.
Dan didn’t want this news getting out until after the ECS budget cuts were passed. Big surprise! But considering forked tongues from other quarters: Fran Rabinowitz doesn’t explain how the “Twilight Zone” students were able to “cheat” on their computer courses and “steal” their graduation credits. I would be very interested in knowing more about this. (I know the “Twilight” program was started as part of the manic takeover of the school district after the Fourth of July Coup in 2011. But why were students who were placed in this experimental disciplinary program denied the fruits of their academic labors produced during their “incarceration” in this program? Could it be money was directed away from patronage jobs as a result of independent study? Just curious. Something doesn’t smell right here.)
Or could it be any excuse for the increased dropout rate is better than no excuse at all? We have been led to believe Fran Rabinowitz was the Messiah, sent from on high (Hartford?!) to redeem the lost souls of the Bridgeport school system. Sounds like maybe she was just another false prophet lying through her teeth.
Connecticut: “The land of steady deception.” At this point, I feel like moving to the “show me” state. (We probably shouldn’t be drinking the water in this state, let alone the “kool aid.”)
*** Let’s not forget the fact many of the public school 12th grade graduates only have a 6th grade reading and writing skill level. They’re not ready for college level courses, no way, no-how! Urban Comm. Colleges have to offer high school level reading and writing courses along with basic Math and English courses as well. In other words, Urban Public Schools have been for a long time now, graduating Urban Dummies who met the State quotas! *** WHOOP ***