Residential Customer Del Mar CA, 92014 ECRWSS
Volume XV, Issue 35
www.delmartimes.net
Aug. 25, 2011 Published Weekly
‘Pawing it forward’
High graduation rates reported for San Dieguito ■ Singing coach said to save voices. Page B5.
■ Torrey Pines graduates’ Blush Botanicals sees growth. Page 9.
■ Aviation rescue specialist swims ‘so others may live.’ Page B4.
BY MARSHA SUTTON Senior Education Writer Using a new tracking and reporting system, the California Department of Education released graduation and dropout rates this month for the class of 2009-2010 that show that the San Dieguito Union High School District had a graduation rate of 94.4 percent, compared to a statewide rate of 74.4 percent. The dropout rate was 3.1 percent for the district and 18.2 percent for the state. The difference between the graduation and dropout rates – 2.5 percent for San Dieguito and 7.4 percent for the state – represents students removed from the cohort for a number of reasons. They may have transferred to a private school, enrolled in a school out of the district, transferred to an institution or health facility, are being homeschooled, moved out of the state or country, or died. Students remained in the cohort if they dropped out during that four-year period, completed 12th grade and exited the system without graduating, or took longer than four years to graduate. The cohort is the group of ninth- through 12th-grade students that could potentially graduate during a four-year period, in this case 2006 to 2010. This cohort includes students who entered grades 9, 10,
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAN DIEGO, CA PERMIT NO. 1980
11 or 12 in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, respectively. The general formula used to derive the data, according to the CDE, is the number of cohort members who earned a high school diploma by the end of the 20092010 school year, divided by: the number of first-time ninth-graders in the fall of 2006, plus students who transferred in, minus students who were removed from the cohort after transferring to different schools, moving away or dying. Different calculation factors employed this year means that the data cannot be compared to previous years, but this year’s numbers will serve as a baseline for future data, the CDE said. For the first time, students were tracked by school districts upon entering ninth grade in 2006, so the numbers just released are considered more accurate than systems used in the past, said Rick Schmitt, SDUHSD’s associate superintendent of educational services. Before this, he said, the district used a derived rate extrapolated from a one-year estimate based on a single year of data. This new model, with the four-year cohort rate, is a more legitimate reflection of actual graduation and dropout rates, he said. Self-reported Schmitt said school districts
SEE RATES, PAGE 18
Ricochet, the “SURFice” dog, reunites with 16-year-old quadriplegic Patrick Ivison at Dog Beach in Del Mar on Aug. 20. Patrick and Ricochet first surfed tandem together at a fundraiser two years ago. The Helen Woodward Animal Center also held a surf dog clinic for its upcoming event, the Surf Dog Surf-a-thon in Del Mar on Sept. 11. Ricochet will participate in the event. See page B2. PHOTO: JON CLARK
Data suspicious on list of best high schools ■ Donors ‘rewarded’ with a course in Marine chow. Page B1.
BY MARSHA SUTTON Senior Education Writer Self-reported data may be responsible for the disparity in rankings between Torrey Pines High School and Canyon Crest Academy on Newsweek’s latest annual list of Best High Schools, San Dieguito Union High
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School District officials say. The list continues to draw criticism, even though the publication says it revamped its methodology and no longer considers only the number of Advanced Placement exams and the number of graduat-
SEE DATA, PAGE 6
DMUSD sued to release documents BY MARSHA SUTTON Senior Education Writer Del Mar parent and resident Michael Robertson filed a lawsuit against the Del Mar Union School District Aug. 8, charging the district with withholding public documents Robertson requested May 10 under the California Public Records Act. Also named in the suit
is DMUSD school board president Comischell Rodriguez, for allegedly not disclosing personal emails related to the CPRA request that were sent to and from Rodriguez’s private email accounts. “Because Respondent Rodriguez possesses, maintains and controls records responsive to Petitioner’s requests that are not main-
tained in files located in Respondent District’s offices, Respondent Rodriguez is an indispensible part to this litigation and must be included as a respondent in order for Petitioner to obtain complete relief,” reads the suit. Robertson submitted a
SEE SUED, PAGE 6
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