Temecula Leads in Graduation Rates

Temecula has the highest graduation rates in Riverside County, according to the county's superintendent of schools.

About 90.5 percent of students who attended graduated, according to Rick Peoples, a spokesperson for the superintendent of schools.

Nearby school districts also did well. rate was 87.7 percent, which was the second-highest in the county. Murrieta Valley Unified School District's rate was 85.6 percent, making it the fourth-highest in the county.

Corona-Norco Unified School District won third place with a rate of 86.8 percent.

Two Temecula high schools had the lowest dropout rates in the county, according to the superintendent's office.

's dropout rate was 1.6 percent and 's was 2.5 percent. Martin Luther King High School in Riverside had the third lowest dropout rate with 2.6 percent.

The results were part of a county-wide improvement in dropout rates, Peoples said.

"Riverside County’s schools registered a marked improvement in dropout rates, and held their own in rankings of graduation rates," he said in an emailed announcement.

This is just the beginning, and the rates are going to get better in the future, said Kenneth Young, the county's superintendent of schools.

"We are doing everything possible to help our students attain a good standard of living as an adult,” he said via an emailed announcement.

“The recent results of our county’s student dropout data demonstrate our commitment to this priority. I encourage people to keep watching these results as we continue to improve our ability to deliver on this commitment.”