The graduation rates at three of Jackson County’s six high schools fell this past year from 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to disrupt learning.
The graduation rate at the largest high school in Jackson County experienced a 17% decline from 2020.
Seymour High School graduated 294 of its 394 seniors or 74.62% last year, down from 2020 when 347 of 379 seniors or 91.56% graduated.
Principal Greg Prange said it was known nearly two years ago that the graduation rate was going to be in jeopardy in the upcoming years.
“COVID-19 has created a tidal wave of factors that we will be experiencing for the next several years as we continue to battle back to normalcy,” he said. “Another factor that we have faced has been a complacency that developed in some students and families associated with eLearning. Most students learn best when they are physically in school.”
A lack of communication from the Indiana Department of Education added to a lower rate, he said.
“Our population has become much more mobile as families move in and out of the corporation — many times without leaving any notice,” Prange said. “Students and parents who tell us they are transferring schools, then do not enroll in another school, count against our graduation rate. We also have 18-year-old students who have to work to support their family and pay bills, so they just quit school.”
Prange and the school’s faculty and staff do not take this downturn lightly.
“This issue is mine to improve. Every adult at Seymour High School is affected by this and will be working to continue to provide every opportunity possible for students to succeed,” he said. “We have amped up many of our vocational programs lately and will continue to utilize them to meet the needs of students and the community.”
Each individual student and their family and support system must own their educational success, he said.
“I can’t speak for other schools. Every high school in this state has a different set of circumstances that they work under. Each student is unique,” Prange said. “They have different strengths, experiences and barriers. Our job is to take care of the students who come to SHS. For us, that starts again on Jan. 11.”
Crothersville High School’s graduation rate also fell, going from 92.86% in 2020 to 87.88% in 2021.
“I have been in education for 30-plus years. Last year and this year have been the two craziest years in education that I have ever seen with COVID, depression, anxiety, absences of students/staff, staff shortages, masks, vaccines, etc.,” said Doug Ballinger, principal at Crothersville High School.
He said most people don’t realize the school requires students to graduate with a traditional high school diploma along with an associate degree from Ivy Tech Community College (early college or advanced technical degree).
“So when comparing graduation rates, it is not an apple-to-apple comparison. In fact, it is not even close. What other high school do you know that requires their students to graduate with an associate degree in addition to their high school degree?” Ballinger said.
He said Crothersville could easily remove those requirements and offer its kids less to increase the graduation rate number, but who would do that just to increase a relatively meaningless graduation rate number?
“We are doing what our parents want and preparing students to be ready for the workplace and life in real time,” he said. “Also, as a result of our programming and expectations and our early college program, our enrollment is increasing. In a few weeks, we hope to have an announcement that will make our programming even more robust and attractive to parents and students.”
At Trinity Lutheran High School in Seymour, 33 of 34 seniors or 97.06% graduated this past year. In 2020, 100% of its 27 seniors graduated.
Elsewhere in the county, Brownstown Central High School’s graduation rate rose 1.43%, going from 88.31% in 2020 to 89.74% in 2021.
Medora High School’s graduation rate was 90.91%, but the school’s rate for 2020 was not reported because it had less than 10 graduates. Ten out of 11 seniors graduated this past year.
Sandy Creek Christian Academy’s graduation rate was not available because the Seymour school has less than 10 graduates a year.