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Stark picture seen in Montana school dropout rates

June 6, 2007 /

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Bear Paw Development Corporation is a private non-profit organization created for the purpose of administering programs to help improve regional economic conditions in Hill, Blaine, Liberty, Chouteau and Phillips Counties and the Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy's Indian Reservations.

The Montana Office of Public Instruction released its annual dropout report earlier this spring, and according to the report, 3.6 percent of all high school students – 1,776 – dropped out in 2006.

The dropout rate in Billings School District 2 was slightly higher, at 3.9 percent with 220 students leaving school.

The state average is up slightly from the 2004-05 figure of 3.3 percent. Billings’ dropout rate also rose from 3.1 percent in 2004-05.

By LAURA TODE
Of The Gazette Staff

Full Story: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/06/06/news/local/25-dropouts_x.txt

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Here’s a program that may positively address the problem. Are the high school students in Montana taking advantage of it?

"The Posse Foundation identifies, recruits and trains student leaders from public high schools to form multicultural teams called “Posses.” http://matr.net/article-24257.html

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More than 9,500 – quarter of all seniors – fail high school exit exam

By Nicole Stricker
The Salt Lake Tribune

More than a quarter of this year’s high school seniors failed Utah’s high school exit exam, meaning they received conditional diplomas, if they graduated at all.

Full Story: http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_6071925