Palisades Charter High School has one of the highest graduation rates in the state, with 91.5 percent of the students in the class of 2010 graduating and 6.3 percent having dropped out, according to data released from the California Department of Education on August 11. The other 2.2 percent of PaliHi students, who began high school in 2006, were neither dropouts nor graduates. They completed their GED or were still enrolled at the end of 2010 or were non-diploma special education students. ’The graduation rate at Palisades High is very positive, especially when compared to similar schools and to the state,’ PaliHi Principal and Chief Administrative Officer Pamela Magee told the Palisadian-Post. ‘However, even a school as strong as PaliHi can improve. Our goal is for 100 percent of our students to complete requirements for graduation, and we are working diligently to reach that objective.’ Statewide, 74.4 percent of 2010 students graduated from high school and 18.2 percent dropped out along the way. The Los Angeles Unified School District fell below the state with 64.2 percent of students graduating and 26.1 percent dropping out. PaliHi is separate from LAUSD as an independent charter school receiving its money directly from the state. Granada Hills Charter High School’s graduation rate was similar to PaliHi’s, with 91.3 percent of its students graduating and 6.3 percent of them dropping out, but other nearby schools trailed. Culver City High School’s graduation rate was 89.4 percent; Santa Monica High, 84.3 percent; University High, 73.5 percent; and Venice High, 70.7 percent. The dropout rate for Culver City was 10 percent; Santa Monica, 13.6 percent; University, 19.3 percent; and Venice, 21.3 percent. Magee, who joined PaliHi in July after working as principal of Culver City High for the past six years, says she thinks more students graduate from PaliHi because they begin their freshmen year in small learning communities that are designed around their interests. Students select a pod related to art, drama, media, music, global studies or environmental studies. ’The pod experience provides students with a common group of caring teachers who become very familiar with the students and who work together to provide both enrichment and intervention for all students,’ Magee said. She added that PaliHi also offers a diversity of programs that keeps students engaged. ‘Because students have many opportunities to explore their interests and talents they feel a strong connection to their school and are more likely to stay in school,’ Magee said. At PaliHi, more Asians and whites are finishing school than Hispanics and African Americans. Ninety-six percent of Asians and 95 percent of whites graduated in 2010 compared to 85 percent of Hispanics and 87 percent of African Americans. Four percent of Asians and whites dropped out compared to 11 percent of Hispanics and 9 percent of African Americans. ’PaliHi is reaching out to the parents of our Hispanic and African American students to raise awareness of the opportunities that are available at our school, to increase their comfort level on our campus, and break down barriers that may prevent parents from being able to actively participate in their child’s school,’ Magee said. She explained that research shows that students are more likely to be successful in school when their parents are involved. ’Students are also more likely to complete school when they believe that the adults at their school care about them and have a connection with them,’ Magee said. ‘When parents, schools and teachers maintain high expectations and provide students with the guidance they need to reach these expectations, students have a much better chance of successfully completing high school requirements, then going on to pursue college or career opportunities.’ PaliHi implemented the Village Nation program in 2008 and began Fuerza Unida last year for African American and Latino students, respectively. The programs provide mentoring and parent outreach, and they will continue to be enhanced this school year. Magee noted that most students drop out in their junior and senior years after they have fallen behind in meeting their graduation requirements. ’Finding alternative credit recovery options other than repeating courses during the school year or summer school is critical,’ she said. ‘To address this need, PaliHi is piloting an online credit recovery program [started this summer] with the intent of offering this option to all students in the near future.’
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