Last May, 686 high school students graduated from Natrona County schools.

But 245 dropped out.

Natrona County School District's drop-out rate hovers near 27 percent and has held steady for the past three years.

Statewide, approximately one in five students are leaving high school before they graduate. Some say it's because of readily available, high paying energy jobs. Others disagree, citing a wide range of reasons students chose to drop out, from boredom to addiction.

Getting an energy job didn't matter to Stick Crosby, 19, and his friends when they decided to drop out. Most were more concerned with having fun.

When someone decides to drop out, it's not likely he's going job-hunting. Buying cigarettes is probably the main motivation for earning a paycheck, Crosby said.

"You have to be 18 to get a real job," he said.

The idea that someone would quit school just for an energy job doesn't add up in Crosby's mind.

"You have to be disciplined to do that work," he said. "Who's going to want to do more school, when you just left school?

The Wyoming Contractors Association's McMurry Training Center requires its students to be 18, said general manager Bruce Brown. The center is a leader is preparing workers for technical jobs, but a 16- or 17-year-old trying to break into the field is a rarity.

"We can't help those guys," Brown said.

The training center's recruiter, Bill Murphy, agreed.

"If they're not 18, they're not going to work," he said.

Brown said creating a program similar to the Hathaway Scholarship specifically for students interested in technical education could be an answer to keeping kids in school.

"I think the answer to the current drop-out rate is beefing up technical training," he said.

Brown, a member of the Wyoming Workforce Development Council, said the group has developed legislation regarding technical education.

The Wyoming Heritage Foundation, in conjunction with the Wyoming Business Alliance is hosting a two-day education forum in Casper that begins Thursday, and will focus in part on the state's education spending and how school districts are working to curb high dropout rates.

Jim Zierden, the school district's drop-out and recovery coordinator, said a culture has developed over the years that says leaving school is OK.

"Students see it as a viable option," Zierden said. "Adults see it as a viable option."

Zierden has yet to cross paths with a student considering dropping out for a job in the oil or energy fields.

"I don't think we're seeing that very much," he said. "I just don't hear them saying that. If it was that simple, that would be something we could address pretty easily."

For many, the reasons students decide to cut their high school years short go beyond finding a good job. It's being on the very fringes of a school, it's a drug addiction, it's the idea that teachers are there only to help students already getting good grades.

"For a lot of these students, they have messy lives, they have complicated lives," Zierden said. "There are no two stories that are the same."

And for some, it's boredom - boredom with school, with teachers, even with friends.

"I just didn't like it," said 16-year-old Spencer Halsey. "It was just the same thing over and over again."

Halsey left Natrona County High School this year, and his counselor suggested he enroll in Transitions and Youth Build. Both are district programs that offer credit recovery for students who've fallen behind.

Being in Youth Build has sparked Spencer's interest in learning again. The group has built fences, sheds, and most recently, a horse shelter for Natrona County High School tutor Rick Arner.

"It's just something else, you know?" Halsey said. "It's not, like, P.E."

Ace Wolf, who also left Natrona County High School, agreed.

"I'd rather be doing this work, getting credit, than sitting in a classroom," Wolf, 17, said. "I hated when you didn't get something and teachers didn't help you."

"Regular classes are too big to help everyone, even if they tried," Halsey added.

Some students try to go back. Crosby did, and ended up leaving a second time. Students have until October 1 following the year after they've dropped out to re-enroll in school. Others are reined in by counselors, who direct them to alternative learning programs, like Youth Build.

But something in the system is broken, Crosby said. Everyone gets so focused on the issue of dropping out that they often forget about the students ready to leave the system behind.

What would it have taken to keep Crosby in school? He shrugged his shoulders and leaned back in his chair. He admits he doesn't really know.

"Probably someone just talking to me," Crosby said. "Nobody focuses on the kid."

Reach Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com.