Amazingly two of the counties with the lowest attrition rates, Madera and Stanislaus, had the two highest attrition rates only six years ago. These two counties have had considerable progress in lowering attrition rates in this time. In Madera some think it is due to the small size of the enrollment in the county that allows administrators, counselors, parole officers, and teachers to get to know their students and quickly respond to challenges. Also grant programs have allowed Madera County high schools to build innovative new programs to encourage students to stay in school. For instance, all Madera High students are enrolled in one of 6 'career schools'.
Students begin to identify with teams of teachers and students from their career school.
They have the opportunity to learn from professionals in their field from the community. Building a practical context for skills learned in the classroom may give many students a reason to stay in school. Connecting students with local businesses will also serve to demonstrate local employment opportunities to young people and may encourage them to stay in the community after high school. Another way of connecting with students is through language. Due to new hiring, a half dozen faculty and staff personnel now speak Spanish.