Technology is making it possible for Kokomo-area students to keep up with their classes and graduate on time, even if they get behind in their credits.

Principals in the area cited computer-based credit-recovery programs as a factor in improved graduation rates, as the Indiana Department of Education released the rates for the Class of 2009 Friday morning.

All Kokomo-area public schools were above the state graduation rate, and all but two showed improvement.

Lewis Cass and Tri-Central high schools had the greatest improvement, at 12 percent. Northwestern and Tipton’s graduation rates each declined by about 2 percent, but Northwestern’s was still above 90 percent, and Tipton’s was just slightly below 90 percent.

The graduation rate measures the percentage of students who start as freshmen and complete a high school diploma in four years.

Statewide, 68 percent of schools met or exceeded the state average, according to the Indiana Department of Education, and about 70 percent of Indiana schools graduated 80 percent or more of their senior classes.

Tri-Central Principal David Driggs said for schools with small enrollment, like many in the Kokomo-area, each student who does or does not graduate can significantly impact the graduation rate. For example, he said, the difference between his school’s class of 2008, with a graduation rate of 82.6, and the class of 2009, with a rate of 92.9, was probably about three students. With graduating classes averaging around 70 students, each one represents several percentage points, he said.

Northwestern Principal Tim Edsell said the school’s 2 percent decline was caused by only two or three students not graduating on time.

However, he said small graduating classes also mean school officials can more easily track students and give them the tools they need to succeed.

“We can have our counselors meet with those students, even have teachers be a mentor to them,” Edsell said. “That’s an important component to helping kids feel they have at least one adult they can connect with and see on a daily basis to encourage them.”

Driggs said schools are focusing more on tracking students when they leave a school, because a high school’s graduation rate is one of the factors in determining if it makes adequate yearly progress under federal No Child Left Behind regulations.

“You really are very adamant about tracking students, where they are going when they leave your school. We don’t let any students under 18 withdraw from school. They now have to sign up for another form of schooling, whether transferring to another school, some kind of virtual school or some kind of home-schooling.”

He said teachers and guidance counselors are now tracking students as early as freshman year and getting them into credit-recovery programs if they fail a class.

“If a freshman or sophomore gets behind with their classes, we’re pushing them harder to make sure they are making up credits through summer or night school or online classes, so they are a sophomore when they should be a sophomore.”

Edsell said he hopes Northwestern’s credit-recovery program, now in its second year, will help more students graduate in four years.

He said though the school’s rate decreased slightly, “we’re pleased to be above 90 percent. That’s a significant accomplishment. We hope to improve that rate next year, take some of our seniors who are a little behind on credits to get back up to where they need to be.”

Northwestern, Eastern, Western and Tri-Central high schools were among the 101 schools statewide, or 27 percent, with graduation rates 90 percent to 100 percent. Lewis Cass, Taylor, Kokomo, Maconaquah, Peru and Tipton were among the 159 schools, or 43 percent, with graduation rates between 80 percent and 89.9 percent.

Kokomo-Center Superintendent Chris Himsel said Kokomo High School’s rate increased 4 percent from 2008 to 2009, and 7 percent from 2007 to 2009.

He thinks increased opportunities at the Kokomo Area Career Center and McKinley Alternative School have helped.

“Without these programs, many of these graduates would have dropped out,” he said.

Himsel said school officials will consider programs focused on 21st century skills as part of its reorganization process. The reorganization also will increase the availability of the McKinley School program, as it moves from the McKinley building to the Washington building.

At Eastern High School, Principal Lisa Smith said school improvement efforts have focused on graduating more students since the Class of 2008, which had a graduation rate of 89.9 percent.

“Our goal is always to be at 95 percent, knowing that’s a pretty high goal,” Smith said, adding that teachers and counselors focused on keeping at-risk students involved in the classroom.

“We’ve done a lot with technology to keep their interest there,” she said, adding that they’ve also done a better job communicating with parents of children at risk of dropping out. The school also started a virtual academy to help students earn credits they’ve missed.

“It helps keeps kids with the end in sight. When they get behind early on, it’s frustrating. Sometimes it’s overwhelming to think about working through it.”

Taylor Principal Eric Hartman also thinks technology has helped improve his school’s graduation rate, with the addition of a credit-recovery computer lab, where students can make up failed classes.

“That gives them a fighting chance of graduating in four years. Without that credit recovery system, they would have become a negative statistic.”

Hartman said if five more students had graduated on time, Taylor’s rate would have been 90 percent. At least five more finished their diplomas first semester of the 2009-2010 school year, “but because they didn’t finish on time, that’s why we’re at 85 percent.”

He thinks the current economy will keep more students in school, because they have to compete with unemployed adults willing to work the lower-paying jobs teens usually fill.

“These students are in a depressed economy. If they’re not getting that message, I don’t know who is going to be able to get it to them. We’re still battling a little of the ‘I want to get a GED so I can get a job to support my family.’ We say, ‘We understand your situation, but you have to think long term, and long term you’re going to be better off to hang in here and get your diploma so you can open some doors for yourself.”

• Danielle Rush is the Kokomo Tribune education reporter. She can be reached at 765-454-8585 or danielle.rush@kokomotribune.com.