Countywide : Brea Olinda School District Boasts O.C.’s Lowest Dropout Rate

The Brea Olinda Unified School District had the lowest dropout rate in Orange County during 1994, according to an Orange County Department of Education survey released this week.

Thirteen of the district’s 2,463 pupils--0.5%--quit school last year.

“We are extremely pleased with that number,” Assistant Supt. Peter J. Boothroyd said. “Obviously we can do better and our goal is to get it down to zero but . . . this lets us raise our head above the clouds and applaud a little bit.”

He praised district efforts to keep youngsters in school, including after-school tutoring programs, extra involvement by school counselors and a requirement that teachers notify parents when students are in danger of failing a class.

Other school districts with low dropout rates included Ocean View, Irvine Unified and Laguna Beach Unified--each with 0.6% of their respective student populations. The survey showed that:

* Eleven of Ocean View’s 1,924 students dropped out.

* Fifty-three of Irvine Unified’s 9,472 pupils dropped out.

* Seven of Laguna Beach Unified’s 1,105 students dropped out.

Districts with the highest dropout rates were Santa Ana Unified and Newport-Mesa Unified. Santa Ana’s rate was 6.3%--1,128 of its 18,016 students. Newport-Mesa’s rate was 3.8%--284 of its 7,498 pupils.

In all, 3,823 Orange County students--or 2.3%--dropped out last year.

Of those who left school, 363 were seventh-graders, 346 were eighth-graders, 915 were ninth-graders, 638 were 10th-graders, 762 were 11th-graders and 799 were 12th-graders.