Although Utah has the second highest graduation rate in the nation among high school students, school districts statewide continue to worry about the soaring dropout rates among minority groups, especially among the growing Latino population.

A study conducted by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research concluded that 87 percent of Utah students who entered the 9th grade graduated four years later, but that percentage is much lower for minority groups.

The Utah State Office of Education estimates that while 88 percent of Caucasian students graduated last year, only about 64 percent of Utah's Hispanic student population earned diplomas.

Greg Hudnall, director of student services for Provo School District, said the large number of Hispanic dropouts is who concerns them the most.

"We have a concern that we're seeing a population whose needs we're not always able to meet or support," Hudnall said.

According to some reports, nearly half of Hispanic students nationwide fail to graduate, and a large portion of minority students don't even enroll in public schools. However, despite these low numbers, a higher percentage of Hispanics are graduating in Utah than the national average of 51 percent, according to the study.

The state with the highest Hispanic graduation rates was Louisiana with 74 percent, while New York bottomed out at 42 percent.

But disagreement exists regarding the true measure of dropout rates in the nation's public schools, and past studies have disputed whether the Hispanic dropout rate has risen or fallen in recent years.

A study just released by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education stated although the number of Hispanic students in Colorado grew 3.2 percent in the past three years, the number of graduating seniors among the same group was a mere 1.5 percent.

The report also found that 60 percent of Hispanic students either don't graduate or take longer than four years to graduate, but only 30 percent of Caucasians, Blacks, Asians and Pacific Islanders dropped out or finished high school late.

"We have problems," said Andres Montoya, member of the CCHE board of directors. "We see it year after year."

In response, the CCHE is creating programs in an attempt to combat the trends, something Utah schools will do as well.

Hudnall said the Provo School District is trying to reach out to students and their families in order to keep the kids in schools and help them prepare them for college.

"National research shows that the No. 1 variable on how well a child will do in public school is the education of the mother," Hudnall said, "so our focus is really trying to reach out to those moms, and do everything we can to help get them an education, in turn hoping that they'll pass that on to their children."

Hudnall said many Provo School District programs focus on battling dropout trends by implementing after-school programs, parent centers and adult education programs. Yet despite these efforts, economic pressures still make school difficult for some students who are forced to enter the workforce early.

"Financially it's tough for everybody," he said. "Families are working two or three jobs just to get by. Rent is very expensive and when 60 to 80 percent of their income is going toward rent, they have to work [that much]. A lot of families are struggling like that."

Copyright Brigham Young University 7 Jun 2004