Former dropout Matthew Kramer is determined to graduate from high school
BY ANDREA EGER & KIM ARCHER World Staff Writers
Sunday, November 25, 2012
11/25/12 at 7:52 AM
Matthew Kramer has been in and out of school so many times he can't be sure exactly how many times he's been counted as a dropout.
He's also not sure whether he will have a roof over his head between now and May; but he is sure about one thing: He will graduate.
"A lot of people accept the fact that where they come from and where they are is who they are, but I think who you are depends on how you react to that," said Kramer, who just turned 18 and is working on the last three credits toward his diploma from Hale High School. "I've tried to find ways to better myself and I've always strived for stability because I've never had it."
Tulsa schools saw a 10.6 percent increase in the number of dropouts over the previous year, but officials say it is because they are doing more than ever before to get kids like Kramer to drop back in, be it at an alternative education program or a traditional school.
Many area school districts have been reporting their latest dropout counts to their boards of education as they prepare to send them for certification by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
Richard Storm, principal of Union's Alternative School, said the primary mission of alternative education programs is to serve those at risk with the hopes of graduating more struggling students.
"Every situation is unique," he said.
"But one of the reasons is the family structure isn't as strong and traditional as it used to be."
Among the many contributors to dropout rates are drugs and alcohol, mental health issues and teen pregnancy.
Storm's school provides comprehensive counseling services so kids can learn coping skills.
"Sometimes we get kids who went to half a dozen different elementary schools and maybe three or four different high schools," Storm said. "And when they move around like that, it's just so hard to maintain continuity."
He noted that family cultures have a strong influence on kids, including generational poverty and a resistance to education.
"We kind of grow where we get planted in life. Part of the reason we have career counseling here is we want kids to understand, you don't need to be limited by the horizons you've always seen," Storm said. "We want them to know that if you come to school every day and work hard and learn your lessons and get caught up, you can go out and do anything you want with your life."
'I have to finish'
Storm couldn't have known it, but he was describing Kramer's experience to a "T."
Kramer can recall at least 15 times over the course of his education that he was dropped from a school's rolls for missing 10 or more days of class.
"I've grown up around marijuana, meth, cocaine. I've never done drugs because I see how it ruins lives. Since ninth grade, I've hardly lived in a place for more than one month. In ninth grade, I had to drop out because I was taking care of my two little brothers and had to get a job," he said.
Over the course of the last four years, he attended numerous area high schools as he moved around from friend's house to friend's house. He has been able to stay on track to graduate on time only because of the online credit recovery programs that most traditional high schools offer now.
"I once completed 11 classes in two months at Oologah. The administrator gave me their cellphone number so I could text them on the weekends when I finished a test so they could review it and let me begin the next section. I have to finish high school," he said.
He attributes that drive to earn his diploma to two things: the spite he feels toward his dysfunctional relatives and his desire to serve in the military. He's already joined the Oklahoma National Guard, completing his basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., over the summer.
"When I was in second grade, my P.E. teacher's brother came to school in his Army uniform and talked to us about what he did. I saluted him and he saluted me back and it gave me a sense of pride. After that, I looked up to the military as a prime example of how to be and I promised myself I would join," he said.
By the numbers
Tulsa Public Schools tallied 906 dropouts, a 10.6 percent increase over the 819 seen during previous year.
Dropout rates at the district's alternative education schools are still astronomical, but that's not unusual for the schools, which serve students who are at risk or who had dropped out previously and count as their own students who are in hospitals and the juvenile detention center.
At the two alternative middle schools, 35 students left and, at the two alternative high schools, it was a whopping 239. That represents more than half of the 429 total dropouts seen at all of the traditional high schools.
Still, the traditional school site with the most dropouts was Hale Junior High, which charted 83 dropouts. That represents nearly 35 percent of all 238 middle school or junior high dropouts districtwide.
It was also two more than the high school site with the most dropouts, which was McLain at 81 students.
In suburban school districts, dropout rates are typically lower than those in urban environments.
Of those reported to the Tulsa World, the four suburban districts with the lowest dropout rates are Berryhill, Bixby, Collinsville and Oologah-Talala.
"The key to keeping students from dropping out is being diligent and working to make sure that you know where students are going if they quit coming to school," said Oologah-Talala Superintendent Rob Armstrong.
He said staff members in his district are persistent in following up with parents and students to find out why they are leaving school and where they are going.
"There are some students who leave and you'll never receive a request for records from another school, so those end up being the ones who are counted as dropouts," Armstrong said.
"There's really no excuse for not finishing high school," he said. "Secondary administrators and counselors have more options these days to keep students in school and finish if they are willing."
New dropout data for Tulsa-area schools
Tulsa Public Schools Middle Schools/Junior Highs
| School site | 2011-12 dropouts | % of school's total enrollment |
| Carver | 0 | 0% |
| Clinton | 13 | 3.8% |
| Edison | 4 | 0.6% |
| Thoreau | 0 | 0% |
| TRAICE | 33 | 35.1% |
| Tulsa MET | 2 | 4.0% |
| Central | 15 | 5.1% |
| East Central | 19 | 2.7% |
| Hale | 83 | 10.9% |
| McLain | 46 | 14.5% |
| Memorial | 16 | 3.1% |
| Rogers | 7 | 1.3% |
High Schools
| School site | 2011-12 dropouts | % of school's total enrollment |
| Central | 29 | 4.6% |
| East Central | 61 | 5.3% |
| Edison | 55 | 4.4% |
| Hale | 52 | 3.9% |
| McLain | 81 | 16.1% |
| Memorial | 77 | 6.6% |
| Rogers | 9 | 3.8% |
| TRAICE | 211 | 37.9% |
| Tulsa MET | 28 | 29.5% |
| B.T. Washingon | 3 | 0.2% |
| Webster | 62 | 10.1% |
| District Total | 906 | N/A |
Suburban School Districts
Berryhill
| School site | 2011-12 dropouts | % of school's total enrollment |
| High School 1 0.24% |
| TOTAL | 1 | 0.17% |
Broken Arrow
| School site | 2011-12 dropouts | % of school's total enrollment |
| 7th grade | 8 | 0.64% |
| 8th grade | 3 | 0.24% |
| 9th-10th grades | 22 | 0.94% |
| 11th-12th grades | 49 | 0.23% |
| TOTAL | 82 | 1.18% |
Bixby
| School site | 2011-12 dropouts | % of school's total enrollment |
| High school | 5 | 0.37% |
| TOTAL | 5 | 0.24% |
Collinsville
| School site | 2011-12 dropouts | % of school's total enrollment |
| High School | 3 | 0.42% |
| TOTAL | | N/A |
Jenks
| School site | 2011-12 dropouts | % of school's total enrollment |
| 9th grade | 2 | 0.23% |
| High School | 56 | 2.52% |
| TOTAL | 58 | 1.23% |
Oologah-Talala
| School site | 2011-12 dropouts | % of school's total enrollment |
| High School | 4 | 0.40% |
| TOTAL | | N/A |
Sand Springs
| School site | 2011-12 dropouts | % of school's total enrollment |
| 9th-12th Grades | 42 | 1.30% |
| TOTAL | 42 | 1.02% |
Skiatook
| School site | 2011-12 dropouts | % of school's total enrollment |
| High School | 19 | 2.50% |
| TOTAL | | N/A |
Union Public Schools
| School site | 2011-12 dropouts | % of school's total enrollment |
| 7th Grade Center | 4 | 0.35% |
| 8th Grade Center | 2 | 0.18% |
Intermediate
| School site | 2011-12 dropouts | % of school's total enrollment |
| High School | 27 | 1.24% |
| High School | 54 | 2.50% |
| TOTAL | 87 | 1.32% |
Original Print Headline: Ex-dropout aims for diploma
Andrea Eger 918-581-8470
andrea.eger@tulsaworld.com
Kim Archer 918-581-8315
kim.archer@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Bradley Kramer (left) and his brother Matthew Kramer leave Nathan Hale High School on Tuesday. Matthew is finishing up a few classes in his senior year at the school and has already enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard. MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World
A dropout several times over, Matthew Kramer is completing his high school course requirements at Nathan Hale High School. MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World
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