High school dropout rates are rising in districts across the state, including many here in the Triad.
Students can drop out of school for any number of reasons. Some leave to get a GED; others leave as a result of chronic absenteeism.
In the 2014-15 school year, the dropout rates ticked up variously in districts across the region, including Yadkin (to 1.17 percent), Forsyth (2.84 percent), Guilford (2.2 percent) and many others.
The overall statewide rate rose to 2.39 percent, or just over 11,000 students.
Melanie McCarthy is supervisor of dropout prevention at Guilford County Schools.
She says establishing and maintaining close relationships is one of the keys to keeping at-risk students from leaving.
“And we have dropout teams in all of our schools so that we are collaborating as staff to identify those students early, to make sure that we're meeting their needs in order to maintain them in school.”
North Carolina's dropout rate had been falling consistently since 2010, but it's too early to tell if this latest jump is a new trend or an outlier.