Grad rate soars at Lawrence High
Over 90 percent earn diploma in four years
By Michael Orbach
Issue of Dec. 25, 2009 / 8 Tevet 5770
Who graduates from Lawrence High School? The answer is almost everyone.
The four-year graduation rate of LHS students has surged from 76 percent to 90 percent over the last four years. For students finishing in five years the graduation rate is 98.7 percent. The high school’s dropout rate is just 1.2 percent.
“I think the culture of the school has changed,” explained Lawrence High School Principal Geoffrey Touretz. “We have been able to sustain a sense of pride and spirit that carries over to the student body and they feel connected to their school. They feel pride, and no matter what they offer to the mix — whether excellent students, athletes, musicians or artists — whatever they contribute is celebrated. They find the school to be very inclusive and very much a place that shares and cultivates their success.”
The numbers are even more striking given the demographic shift in the school district in recent years. The district now draws close to half its student body from Inwood; half of the students are black or Hispanic; close to a third qualify for the free and reduced lunch programs. High Schools in the neighboring Valley Stream and Hewlett-Woodmere districts each report graduation rates in the mid-90’s.
Touretz gives the lion’s share of the credit to his faculty.
“They are in the trenches doing the work,” he said. “You can make it difficult for students to fail by not accepting their failure, by telling them you believe in them. The kind of relationship built on knowing the kids well is essential; they don’t feel like they’re a number.”
Touretz also credited the school board, whose Orthodox majority remains a source of contention. In early November, graffiti scrawled on the side of an LIRR ticket machine in Cedarhurst declared that the “Damn Orthodox board,” had “killed our schools.”
“They’ve done good things for our high school,” Touretz asserted. “The construction projects — renovations to the gyms, athletic fields, the upcoming renovations to the science lab, new ceilings, new lockers. The better the school looks, not only the more pride the students have, the better they treat the school. Little things like a bathroom being renovated or a dance studio being put in mean a lot to the students. It means we have a future in front of us, not just a reputation gone by.”
Dr. Asher Mansdorf, a board member, said that the board’s method was largely hands-off.
“We’ve empowered our administrative team to implement ideas they find effective, and we don’t interfere with them,” Mansdorf said.
The dramatically increased graduation rate has been a goal of the Board of Education Academic Excellence Committee, which was created during Mansdorf’s tenure as president of the board. The current head of the committee is board member Dr. David Sussman.
“We’re pleased that we’re doing this well,” Sussman said. “Of course, until you reach 100% you always have something to shoot for.”
Sussman also mentioned that high school truancy is down and that he’s excited about the universal pre-k program.
“Students in the future universal pre-k program will go to the elementary and there will be tremendous progress. It’s a vineyard where the vines will grow,” he asserted.
Touretz said his proudest moment was the day before Thanksgiving when 149 former students, most of them from last year’s graduating class, came to visit the school.
“We didn’t provide lunch, we didn’t provide coffee and doughnuts,” Touretz said. “We just allowed them to come back. It was really heartwarming that they wanted to come back and tell us how they are and to see their favorite teacher, and occasionally, their favorite administrator... What we say here is, we’re not Lawrence High School the way it used to be, we’re better.”
Questions or comments? Contact Michael Orbach at morbach@thejewishstar.com
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