Colorado releases graduation rates for class of '22. How did Pueblo high schools fare?
The Colorado Department of Education has released the 2022 graduation rates for high schools across the state, including those in Pueblo County.
About 90.3% of Pueblo County School District 70 students graduated high school in four years, which was nearly a 1% drop from the year prior, but still well exceeds the 2022 state average of 82.3%, according to the Colorado Department of Education. Pueblo D70's dropout rate was 0.8%.
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Pueblo School District 60’s four-year graduation rate was 76.6% in 2022, a 2.1% drop from 2021, and its dropout rate was 3.4%.
Pueblo D60 acknowledged in a statement to the Chieftain it has seen an overall decline in graduation rates post-pandemic, though its statement mentioned several “bright spots."
“It’s important to note that from 2021 to 2022, the district saw a decrease of only 2% in the on-time four-year graduation rate while four of six high schools — Central, East, Dutch Clark Digital at Paragon, and charter Chavez-Huerta — increased their four-year graduation rate, and two outpaced the state mark,” the statement said.
Central High School graduated 93.3% of its students in four years and Chavez Huerta K-12 Preparatory Academy was the other Pueblo D60 school to surpass the state average four-year graduation rate. The charter school graduated 87.5% of its 48 high school seniors in four years.
South High School, Centennial High School and East High School stayed within 3% of the state average with graduation rates of 81.3%, 80.5% and 80.1%, respectively.
Dutch Clark Digital Online at Paragon Learning Center, an alternative education campus, graduated 39.9% of its students in four years. That rate was 6.3% higher than the school's four-year rate in 2021, making it the Pueblo D60 high school with the greatest improvement in four-year rates.
“We anticipate that D60's graduation rates are stabilizing as a result of the pandemic and are committed to re-engaging students and providing the necessary support to ensure each student's success,” Pueblo D60's statement said.
Swallows Charter Academy High School, a Pueblo D70 charter, had the highest four-year graduation rate among high schools in Pueblo County, graduating 95.5% of its 44 seniors in four years.
Neighboring Pueblo West High School wasn’t far behind: about 95.2% of its seniors graduated in four years. Pueblo West graduated 280 students in 2022 and improved its graduation rate by 1.8% from 2021.
Pueblo County and Rye high schools joined the two Pueblo West metro-area schools in exceeding the state average. Pueblo County saw a graduation rate of 91.3%. while Rye saw a rate of 85.1%.
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70 Online, Pueblo D70’s alternative education campus, graduated 68.8% of its students in four years — a 1.7% improvement from 2021.
"Overall, I would say we're proud of our graduation rates, we think our students are committed to the programs that we have coming and our school staff is making sure that we aren't losing kids in that process," said Anthony Martinez, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment at Pueblo D70.
A comprehensive look at graduation rates in Colorado may be found on the Colorado Department of Education website.
Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached by email at JBartolo@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: 2022 graduation rates released for Pueblo high schools
