Douglas County Boasts Highest Graduation Rate in Colorado

Over the last few weeks which has turned into a few months, education has been entirely revamped. From March 23rd when Colorado ordered schools to close until April 17th, Colorado has been doing everything that they can in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus within not only the schools but the surrounding communities. On April 21st, Colorado leadership announced that schools would be closed for the rest of this school year, even though Governor Jared Polis has been working on plans to reopen the state for some time.

Denver’s public schools worked hard to work on their remote learning and online programs, but it’s safe to say that’s a different story. However, it’s worrisome to think about the future effects of a lack of educational opportunities. Being in-person for younger years of formative education is important - especially because teachers are then able to advocate for children who are struggling with their coursework or other societal/familial issues. For one thing, the pandemic has caused a good deal of family dysfunction, and in a normal world, teachers are usually able to help intervene on a child’s behalf. Poverty is one of the things that can affect education and future trajectories for children, and poverty is almost always increased with a lack of education.

United Way of the National Capital Area recently released a report that focuses on how child poverty can affect graduation rates. Douglas County (with Denver being the county seat, and MSA noted in the report), has the highest graduation rate in Colorado. The report took things a step further, looking to determine whether child poverty decreases or increases based on graduation rates from high school. Poverty levels decrease by 20% when the parent graduates from high school.

As we begin reopening states and considering what the future will look like is imperative when considering how education affects children.

To see where other states rank, you can see the full results here: https://unitedwaynca.org/stories/highest-graduation-rates/