How many Rapides Parish students graduate, go to college?
Miranda KleinWhile hundreds of graduates in Rapides Parish received high school diplomas this past week, not every student who started high school four years ago finished.
The school district's high school graduation rate in 2017 was 77.6 percent, according to figures released this month.
Graduation rates in Rapides Parish are slightly below average for Louisiana, whose 78.1 percent graduation rate is below the 84 percent national average.
The district's graduation rate was 67 percent five years ago and 69.8 percent 10 years ago.
Schools with improved graduation rates include Alexandria Senior High, 85.5, up 7.1 percentage points; Buckeye, 81.3, up 1.9; Glenmora, 84.1, up 8.5; Pineville High, 83.6, up 2.
Graduation rates for other schools include Bolton, 54.6, down 4.3; Oak Hill, 81.7, down 2.4; Peabody Magnet, 63.2, down 3.7; Plainview, 82.4, down 9.9; Rapides High, 71.9, down 2.1; Tioga High, 77.5, down 5.3 and Northwood, 80.4, down 2.4.
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The state also announced college enrollment numbers, which show 60 percent of graduates in Rapides enrolled in college after graduation last year.
Of those, 89 percent went to four-year universities; 11 percent went to 2-year colleges and 94 percent stayed in state.
In Louisiana, 58 percent of students attended college after high school, an increase of 15 percent since 2012.
The percent of college-bound students by school included ASH, 64; Bolton, 58; Buckeye, 54; Glenmora, 46; Oak Hill, 71; Peabody Magnet, 42; Pineville, 67; Plainview, 64; Rapides, 56; Tioga, 59 and Northwood, 46.
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Assistant Superintendent Kim Bennett said Rapides Parish graduated 1,433 students last year.
A figure for this year won't be known until fall, Bennett told members of the Rapides Parish School Board at its Education Committee meeting Tuesday.
"Unfortunately, we had a big handful of students who didn't walk … because they missed too many days, and they have to go to summer school," she said.
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Only students who graduate in four-years are counted toward schools' graduation rates, and some students will take longer.
The district's plans to boost graduation rates include introducing "freshman academy" programs at Bolton and Peabody next year to support students entering ninth grade and ultimately help them graduate.
"(Last year's graduation rates) just reiterate our work at Bolton and Peabody," Bennett said. "Those are not acceptable."
In the future, Bennett said schools must have a four-year graduation rate of 90 percent to earn an "A" under the state's accountability system. No schools achieved that this year.
Additionally, Rapides Parish had the lowest graduation rates in Central Louisiana, behind Avoyelles, 79.3; Catahoula, 87.8; Grant, 84; LaSalle, 96.1; Natchitoches, 79.5; Vernon, 90.8; and Winn, 85.1.
"We have some work to do, and we know that," Bennett said.
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