The turnaround in the dropout rate in the Decatur School District is heartening. While there is no doubt the numbers need to improve even more, the progress made since 2002 is obvious.

But the numbers truly tell the story.

In 2007, MacArthur High School had 140 dropouts. In 2008, that number had fallen to 35. Graduation rates rose from 76.6 percent in 2007 to 92.3 percent in 2008.

The results at Eisenhower High School are equally encouraging. The graduation rate rose from 70.7 percent in 2007 to 83.5 percent in 2008. The dropout rate in the same period fell from 8.1 percent to 5.9 percent.

New initiatives put in place have made a difference. A program at MacArthur offered students who weren't making it in traditional classes a chance to catch up in night school, which offers a compressed version of the regular curriculum. The program likely will be offered at Eisenhower, too.

Other programs that have helped struggling students include the 21st Century after-school program. Students can practice reading and math skills, enjoy some recreational time and have supper before heading home. The after-school program isn't focused so much on tutoring, though both high schools offer that as well.

Superintendent Gloria Davis has been tireless in talking to the freshman classes at each high school about the importance of staying in school and having them sign a graduation pledge. The schools under Davis have raised expectations, ordered up more rigorous classes and offered more help.

The thing to remember about the most recent efforts is the fact that not all past efforts to improve the dropout numbers have been successful.

When the Herald & Review worked with public television and radio station WILL on a project about the dropout rate in 2002, we were reminded that in 1991 a team of Herald & Review reporters did a series that addressed the dropout rate and the school district's plans to deal with the issue. As we began looking into the issue again in 2002, it was disturbing to learn that the dropout rate actually had grown since the early 1990s.

If you consider the dropout rate for the Decatur's Class of 2001 as the beginning of the latest effort, the progress is apparent. The dropout rate for the class of 2001 was about 40 percent overall and higher for minority students: 56 percent for males and 45 percent for females.

The four-year rate is 33.2 percent for 2007. It has consistently declined over the past few years: 36.9 percent in 2005 and 34.5 percent in 2006. The rate for African-American males has shown considerable decline, from 53.9 percent in 2005 to 42.5 percent in 2007. It has declined for African-American females, from 34.1 percent in 2005 to 28.8 percent in 2007.

Certainly, the efforts of the Joint Dropout Task Force, a combined effort of the Decatur branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce, have made a difference, too. Their aims have helped draw people together to serve as tutors and mentors.

Because of the task force, the Decatur schools were able to add a dropout prevention coordinator whose single purpose is to keep kids in school. The position started out as a grant-funded position but has since been taken over by the district and is paid from district funds. The new coordinator reports to Fred Minner, director of student services, so it's also part of the district's current initiatives.

Space is too limited here to mention every person, group and program that has played a role in keeping more Decatur kids in school. However, it has been accomplished because a lot of people took notice in 2002, when it was obvious things were not going the way they should.

There is still a long way to go to get the dropout rate to zero. But the progress made to get the rate on the decline is something worth celebrating.