Forty-two groups in 30 counties across North Carolina have received $5.2 million in grants to help reduce the number of high school dropouts.
The grants, which range in size from $43,360 to $150,000, were awarded to school systems, schools, agencies and nonprofits that had originally applied for funding in 2007 but did not receive funding during the first round.
Vance County Schools received a $150,000 award for dropout prevention from the Department of Public Instruction. The last posted dropout rate for Vance was for the 2006-2007 school year. During that year, there was a dropout rate of 6.70%. The rate for all of North Carolina is 5.24%.