Leon County Schools post all-time high graduation rate

December 20, 2018

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- The Florida Department of Education released the 2017-2018 high school graduation rates.

Leon County Schools achieved its highest percentage ever of students graduating.

That all-time high graduation rate for Leon County Schools is 93 percent.

That puts Leon County in the top five district in the state of Florida when it comes to the number of students graduating from high school.

Leon County schools outperform the state, this year by seven percentage points.

Superintendent Rocky Hanna says this is a testament that public schools aren't as bad as the negative reputation portrays.

He says in Leon County, this record improvement is a direct result of hard work from school-based administrators, guidance counselors, and teachers.

He says it is most important for the students.

"Now even more of them will have opportunities to further their educational dreams and goals. Whether that's at a college or university, or at Lively Technical Center or at TCC. It's just a wonderful accomplishment," Hanna said.

Leon County Schools increased the graduation rate in all sub-groups.

One group, the superintendent points out, is an increase of eight percentage points among African-American students.

That's also an all-time high at a rate of 89 percent.

Superintendent Hanna says it's helped that the district now offers multiple pathways for students to get back on track to receiving their high school diplomas, as well as intervenes at an earlier age.

He says the hard work doesn't end., as they shoot for 100 percent graduation rate.

December 20, 2018

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- The Florida Department of Education says Leon County Schools have achieved an all-time high in graduation with 93 percent of students graduating, according to the 2017/18 graduation rates.

In a release, LCS says the department ranked the county best among medium and large-sized districts, posting an increased graduation rate in all sub-groups.

LCS says the 93 percent graduation rate is a top five number in the entire state of Florida.

“The overall health of any school system is greatly determined by the number of students who are meeting state standards and graduating from high school," said LCS Superintendent Rocky Hanna.