Idaho grad rates are on the rise

By JUDD WILSON

Staff Writer

POST FALLS — The Idaho State Department of Education announced Thursday that the statewide graduation rate is over 80 percent for the first time.

“Across Idaho, 80.65 percent of high school students graduated within four years, up from 79.67 percent in 2017 and 79.66 in 2016,” said state education department spokesman Kris Rodine. The statewide graduation rate in 2015 was 78.91 percent.

“Our graduation rates have been improving steadily, and the pace is accelerating,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra said in a news release. “I am confident the pace will continue to pick up, thanks to hard work by our schools and districts and the intensive help my department now offers to lower-performing schools under our new accountability plan, which kicked in for the 2018-19 school year.”

Graduation rates varied in local school districts.

Lakeland School District’s graduation rate remained stable, going from 92.0 percent to 92.2 percent. Lakeland High School had a graduation rate of 94.3 percent in 2016-17, followed by 95.4 percent in 2017-18. Timberlake High School’s graduation rates declined slightly from 94.7 percent to to 93.5 percent. Mountain View Alternative High School’s graduation rates also declined, from 75.6 percent in 2016-17 to 73.7 percent the following year.

Coeur d’Alene School District produced 29 more graduates than the year before, but its 2017-18 87.5 percent graduation rate was down slightly from its mark of 88.4 percent in 2016-17. Breaking down that decline by school, Coeur d’Alene High School’s graduation rates went from 91.2 percent to 90.2 percent at the same time Lake City High School’s graduation rates slipped from 91.8 percent to 89.1 percent.

However, Venture Alternative High School saw its graduation rates increase from 55.2 percent to 61.8 percent.

Post Falls School District had the largest change, with graduation rates declining from 89.5 percent to 86.0 percent. Post Falls High School’s graduation rate dipped from 96.2 percent in 2016-17 to 95.2 percent in 2017-18.

However, as noted by Rodine in the SDE press release, New Vision Alternative High School in Post Falls graduated 54.1 percent of its students in 2018, up from 44.9 percent in 2017.

“We couldn’t be prouder of New Vision students and staff,” said Post Falls School District Superintendent Jerry Keane. “A few years ago, the schedule was modified to allow students the opportunity to get 16 credits a year instead of 12. This has allowed the students to catch up on credits so they can graduate after four years of high school. The staff continues to look for ways to meet kids where they are and give them the tools to be successful in school and in life. We focus on resilience and persistence, and it is paying off.”

Graduation rates for Hispanic or Latino students in Coeur d’Alene School District rose from 87.8 percent to 90.7 percent. The graduation rate for Hispanic or Latino students across Idaho rose from 74.8 percent in 2016-17 to 75.9 percent in 2017-18, Rodine said.