While Springfield and Holyoke continue to have graduation rates that are among the lowest in the state, officials in those communities said they were pleased to see gains.
Graduation rates continued to climb in Massachusetts in 2012, marking the sixth consecutive year of rising results, while Springfield and Holyoke were among school districts showing significant gains but still much work to be done.
Statistics were released last week by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, regarding both the graduation rates for four-year high school students, and dropout rates, with the statewide averages improving in both areas.
Springfield and Holyoke continue to have graduation rates that are among the lowest in the state. However, local officials in those communities said they were pleased to see gains in 2012 of 4.5 percentage points in Springfield and 3.3 percentage points in Holyoke.
Daniel J. Warwick
“I am absolutely thrilled by our progress,” Springfield Superintendent of Schools Daniel J. Warwick said. “Great deals of resources have been invested in helping struggling students who may have quit in the past now stay in school. It’s rewarding to see those efforts taking root and encouraging knowing that our improvement rates outpace the state.”
In Springfield, the graduation rate rose from 52.1 percent in 2011 to 56.6 percent in 2012 – a 4.5 percentage point increase as compared to a statewide increase of 1.3 percentage points, according to the newly released results.
“There is more work to be done, but we are moving in the right direction,” said Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, who serves as chairman of the School Committee. “This is good news.”
And in Holyoke, the graduation rate rose 3.3 percentage points from 49.5 percent in 2011 to 52.8 percent in 2012.
Statewide, 84.7 percent of 73,479 high school students graduated within four years in 2012, according to the statewide statistics.
In Springfield, the district’s dropout rate fell from 11.7 percent in 2011 to 10 percent in 2012, the state reported.
Warwick said the public schools have a “total commitment” to making sure the number of students who graduate continues to rise in Springfield.
The state has been keeping the comprehensive statistics since 2006. Gains made by black, Latino and high needs students since last year outpaced other student groups, the state reported.
Warwick said the improvements are a result of “intensive, sustained efforts to keep students in school until the successful completion” of 12th grade.
Initiatives that have been effective include: identifying students at risk for dropping out early and providing the necessary academic and social/emotional supports; and improving student attendance and expansion of alternative and flexible pathways to graduation, such has online credit recovery courses, Warwick said.
In Holyoke, Mayor Alex B. Morse, chairman of the School Committee, said it was important to note both the positive aspect represented by the improvements and the clear need for more work.
Overview of Dropouts in Massachusetts 2011-12 by masslive
“It is great news to see positive movement on our efforts to increase high school graduation rates here in Holyoke,” Morse said. “While we have much more work to do, it is evident we are moving in the right direction.”
Morse said he was confident the schools’ work on reducing the number of students who drop out of high school, coupled with intense work on improving third-grade reading proficiency, will ensure the upward trend continues.
Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette said the city will keep striving to improve its graduation rate, which was 72.5 percent in 2012, but has been lower in the past. The school system has a program to track students at the early grades and to intervene and help before high school and during high school to improve their chances of graduation, he said.
Cohort 2012 Four-Year Graduation Rates – State Results by masslive
In Agawam, School Superintendent William P. Sapelli said he is very pleased with the situation at Agawam High School.
He said of 1,328 students at the high school only two, or .15 percent, have dropped out since the beginning of the current academic year. He also stated that for the school year that ended June 1, 2012, only two, or .15 percent, of the high school’s 1,323 students dropped out.
“When you have only two kids (dropping out) that is pretty good out of 1,300,” Sapelli said. “Obviously, we’d like zero percent.”
West Springfield School Superintendent Russell D. Johnston said the dropout rate at West Springfield High School was 5.1 percent a decade ago and has since fallen to 3.1 percent.
Among the things the school district has done to encourage students to stay in school is create its 21st Century Skills Academy that works with students at risk.
Greenfield School Superintendent Susan D. Hollins said the dropout rate in her school system has been going down for a while.
“We are extremely committed to finding ways to assure everyone graduates from high school,” said Hollins, who meets personally with every student who wants to drop out.
Northampton School Superintendent Brian Salzer said his system’s dropout rate is typically low.
“It’s nothing we have a problem with,” he said. “This community is pretty committed to education.”
Staff writers Michael Plaisance, Sandra Constantine and Fred Contrada contributed to this report.
2012 Cohort Graduation Rate and 2011-12 Dropout Rate by masslive