Today's trivia question to prepare you for the “Clash of Civilizations”. What does raison D'être mean ?
Raison D'être is a French phrase which roughly translates as "reason to be". When used within the English language, it means "the basic reason to exist".....
First a wee bit of history. The raison D'être for free universal public education (public school) was delineated in the 1840s by the common-school reform movement. It was argued that common schooling (free universal public education) could create good citizens, unite society and prevent crime and reduce poverty. I think that the Knox High School Graduation Rate demonstrates a failure of our High School to live up to this essential raison D'être.
The reason for my pessimistic view is the Graduation Rate. I think that the official rate of 72% is overstated. We graduated 102 in 2005-2006. The enrollment in 9th Grade in 2002-2003 was 179. 102 divided by 179 equals 57%. That is the simplest way to examine graduation rate. The expected response from the education bean counters would be: Well that doesn’t account for kids moving out, or home schooling, or going to Culver Academy, etc., etc. But kids move back in, kids go from home school back to public school, and kids drop out of Culver Academy. Enrollment system-wide hasn’t fluctuated more than about 1% the past 5 years. In 2002-2003 we had 2,032 enrolled. In 2006-2007 we have 2,039 enrolled. There isn’t much net movement in and out. I think that our Real Graduation Rate is 57%.
The most oft cited reason (excuse) for our poor performance is poverty. The measure that is most often used is Free Lunch statistics. Here are some comparative statistics. The set of figures on the right of the lines below are the 9th Grade 2002-2003 enrollment divided by the 2005/2006 graduates. I call that the Real Graduation Rate (RGR)
Knox........ 72% grad 37% Free Lunch
The reason for my pessimistic view is the Graduation Rate. I think that the official rate of 72% is overstated. We graduated 102 in 2005-2006. The enrollment in 9th Grade in 2002-2003 was 179. 102 divided by 179 equals 57%. That is the simplest way to examine graduation rate. The expected response from the education bean counters would be: Well that doesn’t account for kids moving out, or home schooling, or going to Culver Academy, etc., etc. But kids move back in, kids go from home school back to public school, and kids drop out of Culver Academy. Enrollment system-wide hasn’t fluctuated more than about 1% the past 5 years. In 2002-2003 we had 2,032 enrolled. In 2006-2007 we have 2,039 enrolled. There isn’t much net movement in and out. I think that our Real Graduation Rate is 57%.
The most oft cited reason (excuse) for our poor performance is poverty. The measure that is most often used is Free Lunch statistics. Here are some comparative statistics. The set of figures on the right of the lines below are the 9th Grade 2002-2003 enrollment divided by the 2005/2006 graduates. I call that the Real Graduation Rate (RGR)
Knox........ 72% grad 37% Free Lunch
.................102/179 = 57% RGR
N Judson. 73% grad 25% Free Lunch
N Judson. 73% grad 25% Free Lunch
..................94/126 = 74% RGR
O.D.......... 68% grad 23% Free Lunch
O.D.......... 68% grad 23% Free Lunch
..................30/55 = 55% RGR
Plymouth.. 81% grad 23% Free Lunch
Plymouth.. 81% grad 23% Free Lunch
..................218/252 = 86% RGR
Winamac.. 86% grad 18% Free Lunch
Winamac.. 86% grad 18% Free Lunch
..................105/115 = 87% RGR
North Judson, Winamac, and Plymouth get the honesty award. Their Real Graduation rate is very close to their official rate. Knox and Oregon Davis get the fibber award for having a much worse Real Graduation rate than their official rate. The poverty reason for poor graduation rates is statistically supported. Knox has a very high Free Lunch rate. (There are interesting little tidbits in the little chart. Compare Plymouth and O.D. with the identical Free Lunch programs.)
But let’s get back on the issue. How is Knox High School doing? With a Real Graduation Rate of 57% (or for that matter, even a 72% official rate) our school is a disaster. Those non-graduates will be highly likely to be on public assistance. They will be highly likely to be criminals. They will be highly likely to contribute to local societal disintegration. Poverty may be a cause of the problem but not an excuse. The school has not made a concerted effort to address this problem. By concerted I mean from the top to the bottom. That means that the School Board is where the solution must start.
I think that this is an overwhelmingly serious problem at Knox High School. The mission and reason for the school’s existence is to create decent and educated citizens. In this mission we are failing. This is a problem that should be addressed at every School Board meeting. Administrators should consider it to be their number one problem. But our School Board does not seem to even recognize that there is a problem. That is THE problem! There is an 800 pound gorilla in the room, but no one notices.
...an example of the word raison D'être...
North Judson, Winamac, and Plymouth get the honesty award. Their Real Graduation rate is very close to their official rate. Knox and Oregon Davis get the fibber award for having a much worse Real Graduation rate than their official rate. The poverty reason for poor graduation rates is statistically supported. Knox has a very high Free Lunch rate. (There are interesting little tidbits in the little chart. Compare Plymouth and O.D. with the identical Free Lunch programs.)
But let’s get back on the issue. How is Knox High School doing? With a Real Graduation Rate of 57% (or for that matter, even a 72% official rate) our school is a disaster. Those non-graduates will be highly likely to be on public assistance. They will be highly likely to be criminals. They will be highly likely to contribute to local societal disintegration. Poverty may be a cause of the problem but not an excuse. The school has not made a concerted effort to address this problem. By concerted I mean from the top to the bottom. That means that the School Board is where the solution must start.
I think that this is an overwhelmingly serious problem at Knox High School. The mission and reason for the school’s existence is to create decent and educated citizens. In this mission we are failing. This is a problem that should be addressed at every School Board meeting. Administrators should consider it to be their number one problem. But our School Board does not seem to even recognize that there is a problem. That is THE problem! There is an 800 pound gorilla in the room, but no one notices.
...an example of the word raison D'être...
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