Graduation Rates Increase at Roswell, Centennial High Schools

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The results of the 2015 graduation scores released Monday by the Georgia Department of Education show that the Fulton County School has made substantial gains, and has the distinction of having the highest graduation rate in the metro Atlanta area.

Fulton’s 2015 graduation rate is 85.3 percent, a 6.6 percent increase over the 2014 rate of 78.7 percent. By comparison, the Georgia average for 2015 is 78.7 percent.

Last year, Fulton’s rate rose by 3.2 percent from the previous year, which demonstrated steady and continuing progress toward meeting the district’s graduation goal, the system said in its press release.

In 2011, Fulton County Schools launched a five-year strategic plan that focuses on three specific goals, one of which is increasing the district’s graduation rate to 90 percent by 2017.

With two academic years still left in the five-year plan, Fulton is just 4.7 percent shy from reaching that ambitious goal. In the first three years alone, the graduation rate has increased an overwhelming 15.2 percent – from 70.1 percent in 2011 to 85.3 percent in 2015.

“This news is just incredible – it’s more proof of the outstanding work being done by our students and teachers to ensure they graduate on time. We continue to be on target to meet our 2017 graduation rate goal,” said Kenneth Zeff, interim superintendent. “We set the bar very high, and the district’s continued success shows the power of high expectations. Our students, teachers, and administrators remain focused on the path and requirements for a high school diploma. The core of our charter system approach is local control and ownership, and our school communities deserve the credit for this success.”

Schools show increases

The class of 2015 data shows that almost every Fulton high school had increases from the previous year, but of particular note are the double-digit gains made by McClarin High School (+23.7 percent), Creekside High School (+18.5 percent), Independence High School (+15.4 percent), North Springs Charter High School (+12.5 percent) and Banneker High School (+11.6 percent).

Five other schools – Langston Hughes High School (+9.6 percent), Tri-Cities High School (+9.1 percent), Riverwood International Charter School (+8.3 percent), Centennial High School (+5.3 percent) and Westlake High School (+5.1 percent) – increased the graduation rate for all students by more than 5 percent.

Rates for north Fulton County high schools are as follows:

Alpharetta

• 2014: 90.8
• 2015: 93.5

Cambridge

• 2014: 96.6
• 2015: 92.3

Centennial

• 2014: 82.6
• 2015: 87.9

Chattahoochee

• 2014: 90.4
• 2015: 94.7

Independence

• 2014: 43.6
• 2015: 59.0

Milton

• 2014: 91.2
• 2015: 94.7

North Springs

• 2014: 77.5
• 2015: 90.0

Northview

• 2014: 96.2
• 2015: 98.3

Riverwood

• 2014: 81.3
• 2015: 89.6

Roswell

• 2014: 85.6
• 2015: 86.8

North Springs Charter High School in Sandy Springs attributes its graduation rate increase to a three-year plan begun in 2013 to identify and work with at-risk sophomores so they can receive needed support and recovery options earlier in their high school career.

It also offers a Freshman Success Class for ninth-graders and the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program to provide extra support for “students in the middle” who need a little more encouragement and motivation to excel.

Creekside and Banneker high schools, which had the highest increases among South Fulton’s traditional high schools, credit their success to setting a climate of higher expectations among students, staff and parents.

Last year Creekside created a Success Academy for all grades to provide help to struggling students after the school day. Students are first assessed on their knowledge and then receive extra instruction to fill in any gaps. The school also operates two virtual labs during the school day to allow students to catch up or accelerate their studies.

Counselors monitor students’ progress and help keep them focused on the goal of earning a diploma. Communication with parents also has increased, as some parents have been unware of their students’ progress toward meeting graduation requirements.

But most importantly, teachers and administrators are unified in meeting graduation targets. They study achievement and attendance data to identify trends where students are succeeding or failing so teaching practices can be adjusted.

At Banneker, school leaders took an extra step by hanging senior portraits throughout the school and placing graduation paraphernalia in showcases to consistently communicate the importance of graduation. The school also conducts transcript audits and has a committee consisting of counselors, school leaders and social workers that make sure students are in the correct classes required for graduation while also frequently monitoring student progress.

The school provides a continuum of alternatives for credit recovery including night school, extended learning time with face-to-face instruction, and virtual/online credit recovery options during the regular school day. Weekly tutoring is offered to students who are struggling in courses.

As open campus high schools, McClarin and Independence high schools operate non-traditional models to help their students meet graduation goals. Both schools offer flexible scheduling, credit recovery programs and virtual classes as well as mentoring programs and specialized supports that help teen parents and struggling students.

Strategic Plan guides graduation rate increase

Fulton’s strategic plan serves as a guide for achievement and improvement. Several initiatives have been instrumental in increasing graduation success:

• Customized Learning. There has been 161 percent year-over-year increase in credits awarded during summer session. The largest increases are seen in the South Learning Community (444 percent) and the Central Learning Community (218 percent).
• Tailored Support. All Fulton high schools counselors are trained in a rigorous, structured program to give them more time and resources to support students. The number of school days lost due to suspensions decreased 29% over the past three years.
• Resource Flexibility. Charter system flexibility gives schools the ability to hire additional supports, like graduation coaches, to help support their individual strategic plan.
  Top Talent. Fulton County Schools prides itself on a very rigorous teacher selection process, which in turn leads to experienced and accomplished teachers in the classroom. This year, Fulton provided its teachers with the highest raise (4-8 percent) in the metro Atlanta area.

This is the fifth year the state has calculated the graduation rate using the adjusted cohort rate, which is now required by the U.S. Department of Education. The four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate defines the cohort based on when a student first becomes a freshman. It 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.

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