CSD Posts Highest Graduation Rate in Metro Atlanta
Decatur Metro | December 13, 2013 | 11:36 amUPDATE: Decaturish also did some number-crunching around this announcement on Wednesday that you might like to check out.
CSD sent out this announcement yesterday.
Decatur, GA (2013)- The Georgia Department of Education recently released the 2013 4-year cohort graduation rate and with a 93.9%, City Schools of Decatur has the highest rate in the metro Atlanta region. “Once again, our students and staff are proving that their hard work is paying off,” said Superintendent Dr. Phyllis Edwards. “Our district is continuing to live up to our vision that City Schools of Decatur will be one of the top ten community school districts in the nation.”
The State of Georgia’s 2013 public high school graduation rate increased almost two percentage points over the previous year – from 69.7 percent in 2012 to 71.5 percent in 2013 – and over four percentage points from 2011 (67.5 percent). This is the third year Georgia has calculated the graduation rate using the adjusted cohort rate formula.
According to the Department of Education, “The four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate defines the cohort based on when a student first becomes a freshman. The rate is calculated using the number of students who graduate within four years and includes adjustments for student transfers. In contrast, Georgia’s former graduation rate calculation defined the cohort upon graduation, which may have included students who took more than four years to graduate from high school. The U.S. Department of Education requires all 50 states to use the cohort rate to calculate graduates.”
Though there are many points of data that can be used to measure the quality of a school, a school’s graduation rate reflects the work of an entire school system and its commitment to student success. “At our Opening Day celebration several years ago, Superintendent Dr. Phyllis Edwards challenged the district faculty and staff to adopt a “whatever it takes” approach to our work,” said Decatur High School Principal Lauri McKain. “DHS’ rising graduation rate reflects that attitude: counselors, leaders, teachers, parents and the Board are in a full-scale mobilization on behalf of all children. The supports that have been implemented over the past several years attend to the social, emotional and academic needs of the students in Decatur to ensure they are prepared for college and careers.”
City Schools of Decatur 2013 4-Year Cohort Graduation Rate
School Level”All Students” Graduation Rate State Ranking by School Decatur High 93.9% 18th
System Level”All Students” Graduation Rate State Ranking by System CSD 93.9% 4th
Subgroup Graduation Rate Black 88.9% White 97.7%
More Information
Georgia Department of Education
Kudos to all the great teachers in City of Decatur schools!
Agreed LP like plus 1,000! I would also like to acknowledge two staff members that some may not think of as teachers but in this case, both deserve special recognition. Coach Iris Gibbons, DHS graduation coach who retired last year, was legendary among staff as someone who could perform miracles with kids in danger of not walking with their class. In my opinion,she was the ideal staff member/teacher/nag queen(I use this term in as a compliment). She just didn’t show up and do the normal extra-ordinary things that most DHS teachers are know for. She turned around both the hard core, defiant “Hell no, I’m not going to do it just to spite all of my teachers, parents, and …” whoever else they were pissed off at the moment as well as the kids that worked hard but just didn’t get it and helped them see that the prize at the finish line, graduation, could be reached. The other person is principal Lauri McKain (no relation to John McCain,as she so often reminded me when I was caught trying to indoctrinate students with right wing, conservative values- just a little humor for those who take me seriously). Very few people really understand how many things she has to juggle as principal of DHS but she does it amazingly well. We are lucky to have her in charge and even luckier if we can keep her. Congratulations to all the staff of DHS- GO BULLDOGS!!!
That’s great to hear Chris. Thanks for the details on the work folks at DHS do to help everybody succeed.
go you hairy bulldogs