Study findings grim for kids in Nevada

Lee Scrivner

Tuesday, June 20, 2000 | 11:24 a.m.

Louise Helton simply notes that "it's nothing to brag about."

In figures released today, an independent national survey cited Nevada as having the highest high school dropout rate in the nation.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's annual Kids Count Data Book for 2000 says the percentage of teen dropouts in Nevada was 17 percent in 1997. Nevada also ranked last in the high school dropout rate in 1999 and second to last in 1998.

In its best year since the study was begun in 1990, Nevada had a dropout rate of 12 percent, ranking 44th in the nation.

"It is unacceptable that our kids are falling so far behind, especially considering how relatively affluent Nevada is nationally," said Helton, the president-elect of the Junior League of Las Vegas.

The state Department of Education calculations show the dropout rate to be much lower -- 9.8 percent in 1997. Since the state changed the way it figures the dropout rate to exclude students who transfer but do not request transcripts, the rate dropped to 7.8 percent in 1998.

The Kids Count numbers, gathered from U.S. Census figures, show the number of people in the state between 16 and 19 years old who are high school dropouts. The state calculates the actual number of students dropping out each year.

The 2000 Kids Count report, which surveys a wide range of factors influencing the well-being of children, contrastingly shows that the percent of children in poverty in Nevada is seventh lowest in the nation.

That leads some officials to believe that the high dropout rate is in many ways a negative consequence of a booming economy.

"What is happening is that the many employment opportunities in Nevada are creating a migratory trend," Nevada Kids Count Coordinator Marlys Morton said. "When new families move into the state, their kids often do not have a network of friends that can give a teen positive peer-pressure to stay in school."

Or the abundant employment opportunities entice teens to work full time instead of attend school.

"On any given Sunday there may be 20 to 40 pages of want ads in the paper. The kids are looking to fill these jobs just as the parents are," said Leonard Paul, assistant superintendent for secondary education for the Clark County School District.

"And we need to remember," Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, who is a special education teacher, said, "that there are many jobs here in Nevada that are well-paying service-sector jobs for which a college education is not a prerequisite."

In addition, said Carol Crothers, of the state Department of Education, Nevada's robust economy draws high school dropouts to the state.

But child advocacy groups warn that the lure of easy money for teens might lead to difficulties in later life.

"They might be able to make huge amounts of money early on, working valet or waitressing," Deborah Campbell, senior vice president of The United Way of Southern Nevada, said. "But in 10 years when their knees or feet go out they are going to have no educational background to fall back on."

The dropout situation has consequences not only for individual workers, but for the economic outlook for the state as a whole.

"This whole issue concerns us greatly, as does the fact that we rank poorly in the percent of high school graduates who go on to college, and in the percent of our work force that is college-educated," Jack Finn, spokesman for Gov. Kenny Guinn, said Monday.

"Kids need to understand that the future is in technology. ... How can we hope to recruit technology into Southern Nevada if there is no educational foundation?"

But the Kids Count survey is not all grim for Nevada.

The study focused on 10 main issues affecting children's well-being: low birth weight babies; infant mortality rate; child death rate; rate of teen deaths by accident, homicide, or suicide; teen birth rate; dropout rate; teens neither in school nor working; children living with parents who do not have full-time, employment; children in poverty; and families with children headed by a single parent.

Nevada improved in seven of these 10 categories.

Despite the improvements, officials are concerned that Nevada's overall score ranks below the national average: 35th of the 50 states.

"Some people see only the improvements and not the overall picture." Helton said. "A composite rank of 35th is like a leak in a bucket. We can keep pouring money into it, but until the leak is fixed we will just be wasting resources.

"For instance, children who are marginalized at home or at school are statistically more likely to be incarcerated. Considering the prison system in Nevada drives the state budget, we would save the state money if we could find funds to improve our state's ranking in the Kids Count categories.

"Right now we are 36th in terms of amount of the money spent per child in education. How can we expect to be ranked any better than we are? You get what you pay for."

Campbell said the Kids Count survey plays an important role in helping communities set priorities.

"We use it as a resource on a daily basis, to help us realize and demonstrate what our priorities should be.

"When people personally invest in being a Nevadan, they have to understand that that means voting and volunteering," the United Way official said. "When candidates this election year knock on your door to ask for your vote, you can look at these statistics and say 'Well, that depends on where you stand on these issues.' "