Report cards were handed out to students in Dothan on Tuesday.

While many students were excited about getting their grades, there are some who aren't.

In fact, some teenagers who fall behind consider quitting school, but that's a decision that's tough to make for a student in the Dothan school system.

Guidance counselor Celeste Morehead often employs what she calls "tough love," to keep students from throwing in the towel.

She say, We have to push them.  We have to go the extra mile.  Sometimes it's uncomfortable for the adult to push a kid that's being a little bit rebellious or a little bit off task, but a lot of times they do that to get our attention and we need to figure out what we need to do for them."

At Dothan High School, that may mean online tutorials or a credit recovery program where students have the chance to make up classes they've failed or to get caught up in one they're currently enrolled in by coming in before or after school.

One suggestion from the state board that Dothan Schools would like to take advantage of is a State Graducation Tracking System that would collect statistics on students at an early age.

That would help with transfer students, but early stats can also predict the likeliness that the child will drop out at a very early age.

Dothan City Schools Director of Secondary Curriculuk Allyson Morgan says, "Research says that a student that is chronically absent in first grade...it's a huge predictor that they'll drop out, but the number of absences they have in the first grade.  By thirday grade, if they fail the reading or math, that's a number one predictor of dropouts in high school."

The latest graduation statistics from the state department of education are from 2008 where Dothan Schools came in at over 85%, just above the state average.