Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/97647
Sarasota News Leader December 7, 2012 Page 22 She added, "This is a challenge, to meet this in 2011-12, compared to the 77.96 percent rate in Sarasota County. high bar." School board member Dr. Carol Todd asked White whether a federal graduation level had been set. "I know under the No Child Left Behind program, the bar was set at 100 percent, and, of course, when the graduation level was not met, the state changed the bar," Todd pointed out. "Is there an expectation [from the state for a graduation rate]?" "Is that the state improving or are we going down?" he asked. White indicated there was no bar. With diploma requirements continuing to change, White added, a graduation rate goal was not expected from the Florida Department of Education. Cantees also pointed out that the district dropout rate had fallen from almost 8 percent to about 2 percent between 1999 and 2011. Cantees replied that with both the state and the district, further increases would be difficult to achieve. White interjected, "You do see the gap narrowing. In some ways, everybody is improving." Regarding other data Cantees said a minor increase had been recorded in the district's School Board member Frank Kovach point- average daily attendance level, though it was ed out that the state graduation rate and the less than 1 percent. county's rate were converging. Further, he said, no trends had been seen in State data showed a 74.5 percent high school student disciplinary action involving drugs graduation rate for students across the state and weapons. Members of the Class 7A state championship Venice High School Girls Volleyball Team and their coaches gather after being recognized during the Dec. 4 regular School Board meeting. The team also won a national Top 20 ranking. Senior Danika Yoder will be playing for Stetson University next year on scholarship, Holly Mattmuller will be playing for the Coast Guard Academy and Taylor Jais will be playing at Harvard. Photo by Scott Proffitt