Social workers in Cumberland County are contacting high school dropouts this summer in an attempt to bring them back to class. Natasha Scott is the district's executive director of student services. She says her department is looking up every dropout and contacting them individually before the next school year.
Natasha Scott: "What that includes is making phone calls to students and actually going out and making home visits to students. So you always want to keep looking for students and keep working until you work yourself out of a job, essentially."
About 3 percent of Cumberland County students dropped out of school two years ago. Scott says the district is hosting a party next month for students who have dropped out of school. State superintendent June Atkinson says she knows of a handful of other districts with similar programs, including nearby Bladen County. North Carolina's graduation rate rose above the national average for the first time this year.