All but one of the five high schools in Jackson County had graduation rates of 90 percent or better in 2014.
And Trinity Lutheran High School and Medora High School graduated 100 percent of their senior classes for the second year in a row, according to data released Wednesday by the Indiana Department of Education.
The number of high school students graduating locally paints a positive picture of education in the county, and efforts to reach and help students at risk of dropping out are working, school officials said.
Bro
wnstown Central
High School
Brownstown Central High School was the only school in the county that didn’t show improvement, slipping 2 percentage points from 95.8 percent of seniors graduating in 2013 to 93.8 percent last year.
Principal Joe Sheffer said he’s not concerned by the drop because the school is still well above the state average of 89.8 percent, which is up from 88.6 percent the year before.
“When you’re dealing with 150 graduates in a class, the difference is basically one kid,” Sheffer said. “If we had just one student who might not have been interested in graduating and instead seeks alternate placement or gets their GED, it makes a huge difference.”
Teachers, guidance counselors and administrators “do everything we can” when a student is considering dropping out to convince them of the importance of staying in school and graduating, he added.
“We’ve been an A school and a 4-star school, so I think the things we have in place are working,” he said. “We’re going to keep doing the same things we’ve always done.”
That includes regular one-on-one meetings with students and coming up with a plan and schedule that works for them, he said.
Sheffer said he is more concerned with test scores this year, but he knows that graduation is important too.
“We want all kids to graduate. That’s our goal, and it’s a big part of your school grade, so we have to focus on it,” he said.
Although graduating 100 percent of seniors isn’t impossible, Sheffer said it’s difficult because of some students’ extenuating circumstances.
“Sometimes there are just things outside of our control that result in a student dropping out,” he said. “But overall, I’m really pleased with our rate.”
Seymour High School
The same goes for Seymour High School Principal Greg Prange, who said he is “very happy with the continued improvement.”
Seymour’s rate nudged up from 96.1 percent in 2013 to 96.5 percent last year. Prange said it’s a result of an increased understanding throughout the community and with students of the importance of earning a high school diploma.
“In addition, there is an increased understanding that a high school diploma is only a steppingstone,” he added. “Most occupations will require more training and continued education, but the high school diploma opens the door for further learning.”
Prange said staff, including teachers, counselors and administrators, work hard with students and parents to get them in line with that way of thinking.
He also said programs and opportunities offered at Seymour, including block scheduling, alternative education, summer school, internships, online classes and C4 vocational classes, have helped the school raise its graduation rate.
“With the increased emphasis on education, from the Statehouse to the schoolhouse, our goal is to move closer and closer to a graduation rate of 100 percent,” he said.
Crothersville High School
Crothersville High School made the biggest gains in graduating students, increasing its graduation rate by 6 percentage points, from 80 percent in 2013 to 86 percent in 2014.
Principal David Schill said graduation rate is often a difficult index to measure smaller schools by because it’s reported in percentages instead of actual numbers of graduates.
“One student counts for so many more percentage points in small schools,” he said. “Our rate tends to fluctuate because of that fact.”
Although he would like to see the rate above 90 percent and closer to 100 percent, he said, realistically, that’s not usually going to happen.
“Some factors make it very difficult to maintain a constant, 90 percent or better,” he said.
One of those factors is keeping track of students who move out of the area or choose to go to a private school.
“Unfortunately, the IDOE holds schools accountable for students who leave and make no follow-up contact and the school where they enroll makes no follow-up contact,” Schill said. “We make every effort to locate those kids but sometimes fail. This circumstance is usually the greatest contributor to our fluctuation.”
But that doesn’t keep the school from doing its best to keep kids in school and on track to graduate, he said.
Trinity Lutheran High School
Trinity Lutheran High School Principal Dan Sievert said a high school diploma is absolutely necessary.
“We have teachers that are here before and after school every day to tutor students so they master the skills they need to graduate,” he said.
Sievert said there are always things the school can do to improve.
“Even with 100 percent graduation rate we don’t just sit back and relax,” he said. “We continue to identify areas of improvement.”
Medora High School
Chrystal Street, principal of Medora High School, said educators there will continue to challenge students in the classroom so they have the skills for postsecondary education.
“Medora continually encourages the students to work hard and graduate so that they are able to get jobs that are more financially rewarding,” she said.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz thanked students, educators and families for the continued hard work.
“Because of their efforts and the outreach of the Department of Education, more children are graduating from high school and preparing themselves for college and careers,” she said. “This is yet another sign of the great work happening every day in schools throughout Indiana.”