POCATELLO - Once you get a high school diploma or a GED, all the doors open, says Rayma Johnson, counselor at Pocatello High School.

"If you drop out, what does that say about you?" Johnson says. "A diploma represents 12 years, all those years of hard work. It means you can stick with something and complete tasks."

Johnson says graduates feel a sense of accomplishment and a boost of self-esteem. Without it, young men and women cannot join the military and are often limited to jobs in fast food or hard labor.

"They struggle, go on welfare, get in trouble with the law," Johnson says. "And when they drop out, they lose driving privileges until they turn 18.

"In order to get a good job these days, you need, not only a high school diploma, but some kind of postsecondary school or training."

When students don't show up at school, Johnson says she and other counselors start calling them asking them why they're not there.

"When they withdraw, it's disheartening." Johnson says. "But when parents come in with a student and agree to let them drop out, what do you do? It's like the parents have just given up."

If dropping out of high school creates problems, why do teens do it?

The reasons are complicated, Johnson says.

"Many students are living on their own and working, paying for their own living expenses," she says. "Some don't get along with their parents, or their parents kicked them out."

Others have learning disabilities that cause them to struggle while others are bright kids who developed the bad habit of just getting by.

"They get behind, get discouraged and drop out," Johnson says. "They need someone to push and encourage them. Sometimes kids respond to someone other than their parents, another positive adult."

Providing alternative schools is an important key to reducing dropout rates in public schools, says Kathy Collins, District 25 director of secondary education.

Since 1995, when District 25 hired John Raukar to start New Horizon High School, the dropout rate in the district has been reduced from 8 percent to 4.6 percent, Collins said.

The district also sponsors Kinport Academy, an alternative program for middle school students.

"There's a feeling that right-brained kids, those who don't enjoy reading, taking notes and tests, struggle the most," Collins said. "Having a varied approach works for kids who can't handle six classes every day."

The official definition of a "dropout" is a student who leaves from November one year to November the next year.

"We frequently have kids drop out one semester and come back the next; they aren't necessarily dropouts," Collins said. "We encourage them to come back."

Rikki McBride, 19, is a student who dropped out and came back. She said she started falling behind and didn't like school in her junior year.

"My friends were dropping out, so I decided to, too," she said.

She graduated in June from Pocatello High School.

McBride credits Johnson's encouraging telephone calls with influencing her decision to come back to school.

"I'm glad I came back; graduating means a lot," McBride says. "I want to go to college, but I don't know when."

Penelope Reedy covers education and entertainment for the Journal. She can be reached by calling 239-3135 or by e-mail at penelope@journalnet.com.

Dropout rates in Idaho public schools in grades 9-12

- 2001-02 - 2,903 dropouts, 8.83 percent

- 2000-01 - 4,143, 5.24 percent

- 1999-00 - 4,533, 5.12 percent

- 1998-99 - 5,082, 5.72 percent

- 1997-98 - 5,041, 5.67 percent

- 1996-97 - 5,419, 6.21 percent

- 1995-96 - 5,842, 6.90 percent

Some 2001-2002 comparisons:

- Boise - 334 dropouts, 3.7 percent

- Marsh Valley - 5 dropouts, 1 percent

- Pocatello - 172 dropouts, 4.4 percent

- Snake River - 5 dropouts, 0.75 percent

- Blackfoot - 70 dropouts, 5.3 percent

- Idaho Falls - 207 dropouts, 6 percent

According to Idaho Department of Education data, contributing to the decrease in dropouts are alternative secondary school programs that help at-risk students succeed in school.

Also, according to new state guidelines the following are not included in the most recent statistics: home-instructed students, students who transfer or move out of the county, GED students who complete a district run or tracked program.

The state definition of a dropout has changed. Dropouts are now calculated from the first Monday after the first Friday in November to the first Friday of November of the following year. Students who leave school for a semester and return the next, are no longer considered dropouts by definition.