Cherokee Leads Metro Atlanta In Special Needs Graduation Rate

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Coming on the heels of an article outlining how the state’s graduation rates for disabled students are among the lowest in the country, the Cherokee County School District is informing the public how its special needs students are performing.

While Cherokee is not mentioned in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s article (which requires a myAJC subscription to read), Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo said Cherokee special needs students ”are performing well in this regard, especially in comparison to the metropolitan Atlanta area.”

Petruzielo communicated this information in a memo, which was sent on Wednesday to Cherokee school board members.

The gradation rate for special needs students is determined in the same way the rate is calculated for their regular education counterparts: students must earn a general education diploma within four years to count towards the graduation rate, no matter the type of learning disabilities or other challenges they may face.

Broken down, the special needs graduation rates for school systems in the 10-county Atlanta Regional Commission are:

Cherokee County

2013: 50.3
2014: 56.8

Clayton County

2013: 27.3
2014: 23.8

Cobb County

2013: 48.8
2014: 51.7

DeKalb County

2013: 22.5
2014: 24.6

Douglas County

2013: 26.7
2014: 35.3

Fayette County

2013: 48.2
2014: 49.2

Fulton County

2013: 39.5
2014: 42.4

Gwinnett County

2013: 31.8
2014: 38.8

Henry County

2013: 48.5
2014: 44.3

Rockdale County

2013: 38.5
2014: 36.4

Atlanta City

2013: 14.9
2014: 18.9

Decatur City

2013: 76.2
2014: 45.5

Marietta City

2013: 33.3
2014: 33.3

Georgia average

2013: 35.0
2014: 36.5

As noted, Cherokee County leads the metro area in 2014 special needs graduation rate and was second only to Decatur City in 2013 — and its rate ”plummeted” the following year, while Cherokee’s increased, Petruzielo said.

“While leading the metro area is noteworthy, it does not mean we are content with our special needs graduation rate,” the superintendent stated. “We continue to explore ways to help special needs students be successful.”

One initiative, according to Petruzielo, is the expansion of the pilot CHOICES program at Cherokee High School, which provides tutoring, mentoring and other additional services to aid special needs students in earning regular education diplomas.

Cherokee High School has seen some great success stories in the first two years of the program and was able to double participation in the program from 2014 to 2015 at no additional cost, the district outlines.

Petruzielo added the district supports all high school students providing them with a slew of choices to help them graduate, such as ACE Academy, our alternative day middle school/high school program; Polaris Evening Program, our evening high school program; C3 Academy, our expanded online middle school/high school program; and Summer School initial credit and credit recovery courses.

These options are all available for special needs students.

“Graduation is the culmination of many years of hard work by not only students, but also the parents, grandparents, teachers, counselors, administrators, support staff, business partners and volunteers who together prepare every one of our community’s children for future success, no matter the path they choose or the challenges they face,” the superintendent said.

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Image via Shutterstock