THE DIRECT CONNECTION
January 9, 2017
Good Monday morning, Teachers, Staff and Administrators,
Throughout our district, we have focused on Graduation Assurance, which aligns to
Guiding Principle 1: Increased dedication to student achievement. Before leaving for
winter break, the state released the graduation rates for SY 15-16. We were extremely
pleased with the results while acknowledging that there is much work to be done.
All states are required to use the same graduation rate calculation. The graduation rate
calculation includes only standard diploma recipients. Graduation rates are based on a
cohort calculation. The graduation rate measures the percentage of students who
graduate within four years of their enrollment in 9th grade.
VCS had the greatest leap in graduates in five years. In 2015-2016, the average state
graduation rate for graduates was 80.7%. In Volusia, the average that year was 76%;
however, our graduation rate increased 4.4% versus the state average increase of
2.8%. Furthermore, VCS had the highest graduation increase of any of our surrounding
counties, with Orange seeing an increase of 3.7%; Flagler, 2.9%; Lake, 2.3%;
Seminole, 1.9%; and Brevard, 1.3%. Our district also should take great pride in the
gains we experienced within subgroup populations: At-risk students saw an of increase
of 11.5%; African American students, 8.7%; Latino students, 7.5%; and ESE students,
14.1%.
Our success with improving graduation rates reflects a focused team effort. Guidance
counselors, teachers, clerical staffs, school and district administrators all focused on the
goal of increasing the number of graduates. Let’s not forget that graduation efforts
remain a relentless K-12 campaign, because it all begins at the elementary level.
Despite last year's impressive increases, there were still many students in Volusia who
did not graduate with their cohort group last year. We have shown that with collective
effort, great strides are possible, and we must keep making those strides to meet the
needs of our students!
Thank you for your commitment to your work and to our students. Have a productive
week!
Kindest Regards,
Tom Russell
I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish
humble tasks as though they were great and noble.
~Helen Keller
James T. Russell
Superintendent of Schools
VOLUSIA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
386/734-7190, extension 20210
Fax: 386/734-2842
E-mail: [email protected]
Twitter: @jrussell_t