Attacking the stubbornly high dropout rate in Windsor Locks is a challenge requiring a districtwide approach.

At-risk children need help long before they reach high school. Many of the problems that manifest themselves in the dropout rate begin when students are young.

The numbers are discouraging. For the class that graduated in June, the cumulative dropout rate - the number of students who drop out from freshman to senior year - was 22.4 percent. In 2003, it was 20 percent and in 2002 it was 14 percent.

One vital step is providing more preschool opportunities. Too many Windsor Locks children do not get adequate early childhood education. Public preschool programs should be expanded. A strong beginning makes a huge difference.

The high school staff is discussing ways to build support by adding peer counseling and peer mediation. Those programs are expected to be in place for students later this year.

Teachers are being sent for training to learn how to identify at-risk students and to create services that would be ready when students need them. With several avenues of assistance, more students should be able to get the help they need to graduate.

Other towns have strategies that have proved successful and are worth copying. One idea already being discussed is an alternative high school similar to one that helped Manchester turn around its dropout rate. A program in a separate building could be well worth the cost.

Another effective tool is using adult mentors drawn from the business community. Windsor Locks has several thriving companies that could provide volunteers.

Windsor Locks had talked about changing the starting time for schools to help all students perform better. That might not make a difference to the most at-risk students. But it could help those who are on the edge of failing. The idea is worth revisiting.