COUNTYWIDE : Attendance Higher at Gateway School

The dropout rate is declining and the daily attendence rate is increasing at Gateway Community School in Camarillo, according to a report presented at Monday’s meeting of the Ventura County Board of Education.

“Considering that we serve high-risk youth and many didn’t attend school at all before they were referred here, the figures are very encouraging,” said Phil Gore, director of the county’s Department of Community and Court Schools. The dropout rate for the 1989-90 school year was 11%, down 5% from the previous year. The attendance rate was 70%.

Gateway School serves youths in the seventh through 12th grades who are referred there mainly because of poor attendance, achievement or behavior problems or both. During the last school year, 865 students attended Gateway.

The report was prepared by the staff of the Department of Community and Court Schools in accordance with Proposition 98. Passed by voters in November, 1988, the proposition requires schools to assess conditions in 13 areas.

The fact in the report “that I’m most proud of is that 80 students graduated from Gateway last year and got their high school diploma,” Gore said. “Having high-risk youth stay in school and eventually graduate is the pinnacle of accomplishment for us, and I’d be proud if even only eight students graduated.”