Those percentages translate to 89 students in the Class of 2006 who did not receive their PHS diploma and 98 who did not graduate last spring.

Schools Supt. Dr. Larry W. Cartner said, “We are of course discouraged and disappointed with the increase in our dropout rate. I have personally observed the staff at PHS working harder than ever in order to keep students in school.”

Cartner acknowledged, however, “The fact remains that we lost students.”

Statewide, 23,550 students — or 5.24 percent of the students in grades nine through 12 — dropped out of school in the 2006-07 school year, according to the “Annual Dropout Event Report for School Year 2006-07” presented this week to the State Board of Education. The Tar Heel State’s dropout rate in 2005-06 was 5.04 percent, or 22,180 students.

Discussing the rate at PHS, Cartner said, “I appreciate the fact that so many community leaders have stepped forward to ask how they can contribute to solutions, and I encourage all our community members to continue to mentor a student who is at-risk of leaving school. Our dropout rate reflected the state-wide increase, though our rate did increase more. Person County increased by about a half-percentage point (about two and a half times the state's rate of increase) from 4.77 to 5.29 percent of students in grades nine-12. In that same grade span, the state also moved up 0.20 percent, to from 5.04 to 5.24.”

The superintendent added, “We need to remember that this problem has many sides. Though school is one very important part of the equation, it is not the sole determining factor in the tragedy of a dropout. However, the school is still a single part, and we need the community’s help in keeping all our students in school and helping them become productive citizens.”

State Board of Education Chairman Howard Lee said he was deeply concerned about the number of students dropping out of school.

"Students drop out of school for many reasons, including excessive absences, family concerns, academic problems or the belief that they can finish a high school credential more quickly through a GED program, but North Carolinians need to make sure these young people realize how tough it can be for them once they bypass their high school diploma. High school graduation today is a bare minimum for economic survival, and we need to support all students so that they graduate from high school."

State Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson said that the dropout rate is an indicator that a number of strategies must be explored to solve the dropout problem.

The issue of high school dropouts has prompted significant work recently to improve middle and high schools so that students are better engaged and supported in their learning.

Dropout data have been collected each year since 1988-89, although specific reporting methods changed in 1991 to conform to new federal guidelines and in 1999 because of changes in the state's definition of a dropout.

For the annual dropout rate calculation, a dropout is defined as a student who: was enrolled in school at some time during the previous school year, which is the reporting year; was not enrolled on day 20 of the current school year; has not graduated from high school or completed a state or district approved educational program; did not transfer to another public school district, private school, home school or state/district approved educational program; was not temporarily absent due to suspension or school-approved illness; or death.

North Carolina also collects a four-year cohort graduation rate each year. This rate indicates the percentage of first-time ninth graders who graduated from high school four years later.