Richmond County has the sixth lowest graduation rate for black males among the country's school systems with large black enrollment, according to a national report.

Using national data for the 2005-06 school year, the Schott Foundation for Public Education, a national organization dedicated to equity in education, put Richmond County's graduation rate for black males at 31 percent, tied with the Baltimore city school system. White males graduate at a rate of 43 percent in Richmond County.

Superintendent Dana Bedden said skin color shouldn't be such a significant factor in graduation rates. He shared the report with principals and administrators during a recent meeting, using it to underscore the need for change in the school system.

"We can't keep saying 'That's what we've always done,' " he said. "There's a reason for doing things differently."

The report attributes the much lower graduation rates for black males to a disproportionately high suspension rate and a disproportionately high rate of being identified as mentally disabled compared with white males. In Richmond County, black males were nearly three times as likely to be suspended and almost twice as likely to be identified as mentally disabled.

"We've got to stop putting students out of high school so freely," Dr. Bedden said.

Teachers must be able to discipline students, he said, but that shouldn't put the students at a disadvantage academically. He said he has begun contacting churches to ask that they take in suspended students and work with them on class work.

In Richmond County, most believe that all students can achieve, but there are some who do not, Dr. Bedden said.

"My job is to make sure we put the right leaders in place," the superintendent said, reiterating the need to change the culture of Richmond County's schools. "The good news is I'm seeing more and more people who want a good school system."

TEN WORST SCHOOL SYSTEMS FOR BLACK MALES

	Black Male	2005-06	Graduation Rates	Rounded
System	Enrollment	Black Males	White Males	Gap
Indianapolis	11,593	19 percent	19 percent	0 percent
Detroit	59,807	20 percent	17 percent	-3 percent
Norfolk, Va.	12,672	27 percent	44 percent	17 percent
Rochester, N.Y.	11,270	29 percent	36 percent	7 percent
Pinellas County, Fla	11,319	30 percent	50 percent	20 percent
Richmond County, Ga	12,091	31 percent	43 percent	12 percent
Baltimore City	38,996	31 percent	37 percent	6 percent
Buffalo, N.Y.	10,666	31 percent	50 percent	-19 percent
Milwaukee	26,818	32 percent	46 percent	14 percent
New York City	159,555	32 percent	57 percent	24 percent

Source: Schott Foundation for Public Education report Given Half a Chance: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education for Black Males