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Prince George and area sees an increase in graduation rates

The number of students graduating from SD 57 is climbing
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School District 57 held their financial statement announcement in their boardroom on Sept. 25 (via Hanna Petersen).

School District 57 (SD 57) graduation rates are on the rise.

The six-year graduation rates for all SD 57 students increased 6.5 percentage points. Six-year graduation rates look at the number of students who complete school within six years after enrolling in Grade 8.

In the 2016-17 school year, graduation rates were 73.2 per cent; in the 2017-18 school year, they jumped to 79.7 per cent.  

"Over the past few years, school district staff have worked to improve the educational experience for our students and ensure our students are successful. The board is excited by these results but also recognize that the work is not done,” says Tim Bennett, board chair, in a press release. 

“We need to keep striving for not only parity with the provincial average but for 100 per cent completion. We also need to ensure that this is not a blip on our chart but the new baseline.”

The SD 57 Aboriginal student graduation rate also jumped 8.5 percentage points in one year.

In the 2016-17 school year, the graduation rate was 57.3 per cent, and it increased to 65.8 per cent in 2017-18.

Across the province, the six-year completion rate for Indigenous students in 2017-18 was up by four per cent (70 per cent) from the previous year.

SD 57 English language learners also had a one-year percentage increase in six-year graduation rates, from 56.4 per cent in 2016-17 to 64.3 per cent in 2017-18, an increase of 7.9 per cent. 

The greatest gain in six-year graduation rates was students with special needs. SD 57 students climbed from 44.5 per cent in 2016-17 to 57.8 per cent in 2017-18.  

“Fully implementing the new B.C. curriculum, infusing Indigenous knowledge and creating safe and caring environments are central to our work,” says Superintendent Marilyn Marquis-Forster in the release.

“We will need to continue our focus over the next few years to keep up this momentum. We have wonderful students, a staff committed to ongoing professional learning, a newly elected board of education dedicated to supporting student learning and an engaged community.”