Graduation rates uneven across Union County school districts

Jan. 26—LA GRANDE — Union County's public high school graduation rates for the 2021-22 academic year were wide-ranging and mixed, according to statistics just released by the Oregon Department of Education

Imbler had a perfect graduation rate for the second year in a row, while rates were up at Powder Valley and Cove high schools and down at La Grande, Union and Elgin high schools.

La Grande High School's graduation rate was 68.94%, down from its 2020-21 rate of 85.99%.

The drop came after a five-year stretch where La Grande logged an average graduation rate of 84.2%.

La Grande School District Superintendent George Mendoza said great focus will be placed on getting the high school's graduation rates to rebound. He believes the district could get into the 90% category.

"We are going to get there," he said. "When you focus a lot of time on something, you will get good results."

The superintendent said the lower graduation rate did not come as a surprise because of data presented by administrators in the fall. Since then, administrators and staff members have been working to expand programs to help more students graduate. These efforts include arranging to add opportunities for students to earn both high school and college credits in some classes and focusing on getting more federal grants to update the high school's career technical education classes.

LHS Principal Brett Baxter said part of the effort is also focused on boosting attendance.

"As we exit the pandemic, improving attendance will be a key element to improving graduation outcomes," he said. "Our team will continue to develop incentives and programs that encourage student attendance above 90%."

Remaining perfect

Imbler High School's perfect graduation rate was its third in the past four years. The lone exception was in 2019-20 when its graduation rate was 85.71%.

Imbler School District Superintendent Randy Waite credits the strong graduation numbers to the connections teachers make with students. He said they make a point of getting to know students as freshmen and then keeping them on track throughout high school.

"They make connections that help students reach goals," he said.

Waite also credits the support students receive from parents and community.

"The expectations of parents and the community for education are high and this translates into success," said Waite, who is completing his seventh month as the district's new superintendent.

Powder Valley High School also topped the 90% mark with a graduation rate of 94.74%, up from 80% in 2020-21 and well above the state average of 81.3%. This is the third time in four years that Powder Valley, which had 100% graduation rates in 2019-20 and 2018-19, has been over the 90% mark.

"I'm very, very proud of this fact," North Powder School District Superintendent Lance Dixon said.

He credits much of the school district's success to its faculty.

"It is a testament of the job teachers do getting students to the finish line," he said.

The North Powder superintendent said COVID-19 took a toll on the school district earlier because a number of students did not fare well when they had to take classes online through the school district's Comprehensive Distance Learning program during the pandemic. Dixon noted that this was particularly true of students who had jobs.

"It was harder to get kids engaged online after they had been working," he said.

The superintendent said his district is succeeding despite the many hoops the Oregon Department of Education requires districts to pass through. These include reports that have to be completed before receiving noncompetitive state grants. Dixon laments that much of the time spent writing reports would be better spent advocating for students.

Cove High School had a 2021-22 graduation rate of 88.46%, up from its rate of 85.71% in 2020-21. This was the fourth straight year Cove, which had a graduation rate of 93.1% in 2018-19, has had a graduation rate of at least 84.1%.

Cove School District Superintendent Earl Pettit anticipates the high school will continue to have strong graduation rates in the future since all of the members of the sophomore class were on track to graduate after their freshman year.

Pettit said students who are on track to graduate after the freshman year have an excellent chance of walking across Cove's commencement stage.

Students on the move

The Elgin School District had a graduation rate of 50%, down from 71.43% in 2020-21. Elgin School District Superintendent Dianne Greif said the low number reflects a high number of students coming and leaving.

"We had a lot of student mobility," she said.

Greif noted that one student old enough to be a senior enrolled last year and then dropped out, a move that counted against the school's graduation rate.

Greif said the school district is willing to reach out to students who drop out. She said even if only a couple of the students the school district takes a chance on make it to graduation, it is worth the effort.

Union High School had a graduation rate of 78.2%, down from 94.12% in 2020 — 21. Union School District Superintendent Carter Wells said much of the drop reflects the pandemic.

"COVID-19 had a dramatic impact," he said.

Wells said that a number of students were unable to earn the credits they ultimately needed to graduate while taking classes online during the pandemic.

Overall, Oregon's 2021-22 high school graduation rate was 81.3%, according to the Oregon Department of Education.