By Michelle Bliss
Wilmington, NC – North Carolina's high school dropout rates for last school year were just released and Pender County has the lowest dropout rate it's seen in more than five years.
Less than 3%, or about 100 students, in Pender County dropped out of school during the 2007-2008 school year.
That dropout rate is nearly a percentage point lower than the rates for New Hanover and Brunswick counties.
Pender County Schools spokesperson Julie Askew says the entire community benefits when kids stay in school.
"It also is exciting for Pender County, just as a community, simply because we know that the more students are able to succeed in school and maintain until graduation, then they're more likely to be able to be more contributing members of society and support their own families and be more dedicated to the process of education."
The state's dropout rate fell below 5%, its first drop in three years.
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