SEBRING — Florida ranked second in the nation with 51.1 percent of its public high schools showing excessive dropout rates, but no schools in Highlands or surrounding counties made the list of "Dropout Factories." The state's public high schools have some of the worst student retention rates in the country, with half qualifying as "Dropout Factories," four times the national average, according to a new analysis of U.S. Education Department data conducted by Johns Hopkins University. The term dropout factory, coined by Hopkins researcher Bob Balfanz, describes schools where no more than 60 percent of the students who start as freshmen make it to their senior year. ...more

November 3, 2007

Florida's public high schools have some of the worst student retention rates in the country, with half qualifying as "Dropout Factories," four times the national average, according to a new analysis of U.S. Education Department data. ...more

November 2, 2007

MIAMI - Florida's public high schools have some of the worst student retention rates in the country, with half qualifying as "Dropout Factories," four times the national average, according to a new analysis of U.S. Education Department data. Among the local schools on the list were Bloomingdale, Chamberlain, Plant City, Leto and East Bay. Dropout Rate Map: Is Your School On The List? ...more

October 31, 2007