CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Four of Kanawha County's eight high schools did not graduate enough students in 2008, state education officials said in a report Friday.

Riverside, Capital, Sissonville and South Charleston high schools each failed to graduate at least 80 percent of their seniors this spring, according to the report.

South Charleston and Sissonville plan to appeal the decision, said Bill Mullett, director of counseling and testing for Kanawha County Schools. Each school has a graduation rate that sits at 79 percent, and officials are allowed to count GED graduates.

Teachers, principals, parents and students learn each August whether their school made "adequate yearly progress," a benchmark set by each state's top education officials that aligns with the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Progress is largely based on the WESTEST, the standardized test West Virginia students take each May.

In all, 55 schools in Kanawha County made adequate yearly progress for the 2007-08 school year while 11 did not, the same number as last year.

Statewide, 555 of 692 schools met adequate progress, fewer than in each of the past three years, according to state figures.

For a West Virginia high school to reach the progress marker, at least 80 percent of its students must graduate.

Riverside High School graduated 75 percent of its students, and Capital High was at 69 percent.

More involvement needed

Capital also was flagged because its black students did not make significant gains in math and reading. Fewer than half were deemed proficient in math on the WESTEST, and just six in 10 in reading. Capital students from low-income homes also struggled with reading.

The Rev. Matthew Watts, a community organizer and pastor on Charleston's West Side, said the problems with dropouts and graduation rates cannot rest solely with the Kanawha County school system. He wants to encourage community involvement from chambers of commerce, local businesses and faith-based organizations.

"I know people are talking about it but, frankly, I don't see the commitment," he said. "This is like trying to turn the Titanic."

After Kanawha school board members expressed concern over dropout rates in April, Superintendent Ron Duerring said the school system's ninth-grade academies - an extensive orientation and middle-school transition program for freshmen - would be expanded to all county high schools in the fall. He also said teachers and other school staffers would each monitor and mentor one student this year to help curb the problem.

Statewide, the graduation rate is the worst it's been in three years. Last year, the state reported that 97 percent of students graduated. This year, that dropped to 86 percent.

Watts said Duerring and State Superintendent of Schools Steve Paine have both expressed interest in using new methods to curb the problem.

Still, Watts said elementary and middle school students need to develop new skills to keep them from leaving high school early.

"This is larger than No Child Left Behind," he said. "We need to improve these graduation rates and the skills of those students graduating."

Middle schools

Four Kanawha middle schools did not make adequate yearly progress this year, compared to eight from last year. The four that missed the mark this year were Stonewall Jackson, Sissonville, Elkview and Andrew Jackson.

If a West Virginia school has fewer than 50 special education students tested, then that school is not held accountable for those students under No Child Left Behind. Elkview, Andrew Jackson and Stonewall Jackson each tested too many special education students to qualify for that exemption.

Melanie Vickers, assistant superintendent in charge of middle schools, said more special education students have raised their scores above the benchmark, but the bar is set higher each year.

"I'm kind of at a loss about what to do with special education," she said.

At Sissonville Middle, poorer students struggled to make progress in reading.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Four of Kanawha County's eight high schools did not graduate enough students in 2008, state education officials said in a report Friday.

Riverside, Capital, Sissonville and South Charleston high schools each failed to graduate at least 80 percent of their seniors this spring, according to the report.

South Charleston and Sissonville plan to appeal the decision, said Bill Mullett, director of counseling and testing for Kanawha County Schools. Each school has a graduation rate that sits at 79 percent, and officials are allowed to count GED graduates.

Teachers, principals, parents and students learn each August whether their school made "adequate yearly progress," a benchmark set by each state's top education officials that aligns with the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Progress is largely based on the WESTEST, the standardized test West Virginia students take each May.

In all, 55 schools in Kanawha County made adequate yearly progress for the 2007-08 school year while 11 did not, the same number as last year.

Statewide, 555 of 692 schools met adequate progress, fewer than in each of the past three years, according to state figures.

For a West Virginia high school to reach the progress marker, at least 80 percent of its students must graduate.

Riverside High School graduated 75 percent of its students, and Capital High was at 69 percent.

More involvement needed

Capital also was flagged because its black students did not make significant gains in math and reading. Fewer than half were deemed proficient in math on the WESTEST, and just six in 10 in reading. Capital students from low-income homes also struggled with reading.

The Rev. Matthew Watts, a community organizer and pastor on Charleston's West Side, said the problems with dropouts and graduation rates cannot rest solely with the Kanawha County school system. He wants to encourage community involvement from chambers of commerce, local businesses and faith-based organizations.

"I know people are talking about it but, frankly, I don't see the commitment," he said. "This is like trying to turn the Titanic."

After Kanawha school board members expressed concern over dropout rates in April, Superintendent Ron Duerring said the school system's ninth-grade academies - an extensive orientation and middle-school transition program for freshmen - would be expanded to all county high schools in the fall. He also said teachers and other school staffers would each monitor and mentor one student this year to help curb the problem.

Statewide, the graduation rate is the worst it's been in three years. Last year, the state reported that 97 percent of students graduated. This year, that dropped to 86 percent.

Watts said Duerring and State Superintendent of Schools Steve Paine have both expressed interest in using new methods to curb the problem.

Still, Watts said elementary and middle school students need to develop new skills to keep them from leaving high school early.

"This is larger than No Child Left Behind," he said. "We need to improve these graduation rates and the skills of those students graduating."

Middle schools

Four Kanawha middle schools did not make adequate yearly progress this year, compared to eight from last year. The four that missed the mark this year were Stonewall Jackson, Sissonville, Elkview and Andrew Jackson.

If a West Virginia school has fewer than 50 special education students tested, then that school is not held accountable for those students under No Child Left Behind. Elkview, Andrew Jackson and Stonewall Jackson each tested too many special education students to qualify for that exemption.

Melanie Vickers, assistant superintendent in charge of middle schools, said more special education students have raised their scores above the benchmark, but the bar is set higher each year.

"I'm kind of at a loss about what to do with special education," she said.

At Sissonville Middle, poorer students struggled to make progress in reading.

Vickers said principals at East Bank and Hayes middle schools benefited from a summer training seminar in 2007, which she said reinvigorated staff and helped students at those schools make gains.

"Overall our middle school scores went up in almost every area," Vickers said, when comparing all sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade test results with last year's scores.

Horace Mann and John Adams middle schools also met the progress benchmark after they failed to do so in 2007.

Elementary schools

Only three elementary schools failed to make adequate yearly progress: Malden, Point Harmony and Cedar Grove Community School.

Teachers at Point Harmony tested 54 special education students, the lone area the school did not meet the progress benchmark.

Anne Bailey, J.E. Robins and Pratt elementary schools improved this year after being flagged last year.

J.E. Robins Principal Henry Nearman said it took a conscious, school-wide effort to improve.

"The biggest thing was that we took responsibility for it," he said. "Every staff member took it upon himself or herself to say, 'What could I do to be a better educator?'"

Parents visited school more often to learn about what was going on with their child's education. Charleston police officers visited school every Wednesday to eat lunch and talk to the students.

"It was pretty cool cause all the kids wanted their autograph," Nearman said.

J.E. Robins still must offer parents and students who live in the area the choice to attend another school if they wish, because the school did not reach federal benchmarks in multiple years.

Kanawha assistant superintendent Jane Roberts said math and reading specialists would give students extra attention each month at many of the schools that did not meet the progress marker.

Reach Davin White at davinwh...@wvgazette.com or 348-1254.

How surrounding counties fared 

In most of the counties that surround Kanawha, a majority of schools met adequate yearly progress as determined by state educators and the federal No Child Left Behind law.

The schools that did not meet the 2007-08 benchmark in those six counties are:

Source: West Virginia Department of Education