Newport's Graduation Rate Could Top 85 Percent, Superintendent Says

NEWPORT, RI—The estimates are unofficial, Schools Supt. Colleen Burns Jermain told the school committee at its Jan. 10 meeting. But Rogers High School is on track to improve its graduation rate to 90.3 percent.

"We're keeping our fingers crossed," said Jermain who arrived in 2014 and was faced with a district that graduated only 69.5 percent of its youngsters.

She was tasked with improving the rate by a modest four percent every year. Initially, the district-wide rate improved nine points to 78.9 percent. This year, the district-wide graduation rate is predicted to reach 85.3 percent.

The state Department of Education will have to confirm the numbers before they're official, she said.

The district graduation rate includes out-of-district placements, typically for special education students, she explained. Rogers High has fared even better than the district.

Last year, Rogers improved from 73 percent to 83 percent. The newest estimates is 90.8 percent.

"But the devil's in the details," she said. "We've got to continue to work," she said.

The district has focused on the students in the so-called tier-2 and tier-3 groups. They need more support than the general population. Also, the Career & Technical Center has been successful keeping the students in school.