“The news was very good for both Klamath Union and the district as a whole,” said Klamath Falls City Schools District Superintendent Paul Hillyer.

“The four-year cohort graduation rates are the ones typically reported in the media. The district in this category went from 61.88 percent in 2015-16 to 65.54 percent in 2016-17. KU went from 71 percent to 88.57 percent.

“The four-year completer rate was even better news. Remember the completer rate includes students who earned a GED. The district went from 71.38 in 2015-16 to 80.52 in 2016-17. Klamath Union went from 76.44 to 94.29.”

The Klamath County School District continues to exceed the state in its graduation rate, according to a press release.

According to data released Thursday, KCSD’s overall four-year graduation rate for the 2016-17 school year is 77.87 percent, which is a little more than a point higher than the overall Oregon rate of 76.65 percent.

Both the KCSD and the state improved four-year graduation rates over last year. KCSD improved 1.49 percent from 76.38 in the 2015-16 school year. Oregon improved 1.82 percent from 74.83 percent in the 2015-16 school year.

Superintendent of the Klamath County School District, Greg Thede, and Secondary Curriculum Director Jeff Bullock compared the KCSD to other districts in the Southern Oregon Education Service District in the four-year graduation rate, and found Klamath County tied with Medford for third out of 12 districts at about 78 percent. Ashland had the No. 1 spot, followed by Central Point.

The KCSD’s overall increase reflects gains and challenges throughout the district. Four of the district’s high schools made gains of 5 percentage points or more between the 2015-16 school year and the 2016-17 school year. Two schools stayed relatively constant, with a decrease or gain of less than 3 percent. And one school with an unusually small senior class saw a dip of a little more than 17 percent, which represented a total of four students.

Big steps for Falcon Heights

Thede and Bullock were especially impressed with the progress Falcon Heights Academy has made.

Falcon Heights is an alternative high school, meaning it educates students who have difficulty finishing in four years, or face extreme challenges at home. The typical Falcon Heights student arrives as a junior or senior, unlike in a traditional high school where class groups enter as freshmen and graduate four years later as seniors.

“It’s been a focus for us to provide kids the opportunity to finish their education, whether that’s as a fourth-year completer or a fifth-year completer,” said Principal Joe Tacchini. “We’re trying really hard to improve both of those data sets.”

Falcon Heights saw big gains in both its four-year graduation rate and its five-year completion rate. It doubled the four-year rate, from 7.35 percent in 2015-16 to 14.86 percent in 2016-17. And it’s five year completion rate jumped by 20 percentage points from 31.58 percent in 2015-16 to 52.11 percent in 2016-17.

“That’s fantastic,” Bullock said. “We want to let the world know they doubled their graduation rate and they increased their five-year completer rate by 70 percent. Those are great numbers.”

“They are definitely making tremendous progress there,” Thede said. “Kudos to Joe Tacchini and everyone at Falcon Heights Academy. They truly embrace the work, they’re committed, they’re dedicated, and it shows.”

“We have a staff that works tirelessly toward those goals,” Tacchini said. “The biggest thing is going to a full-day program and adding highly qualified staff.”

Grad rates on the rise

Lost River Jr./Sr. High School also saw a big increase since last year, rising 12.6 percentage points from 84.62 percent in 2015-16 to 97.22 percent in 2016-17.

“We have a mantra we live by: Hard is not impossible,” said Principal Jamie Ongman. “It reiterates support for our students academically and being intentional in how we teach. The staff has really taken that and ran with it.”

Ongman noted the Class of 2017 was an exceptional bunch, with students getting full-ride scholarships to Princeton University, Georgetown University and West Point United States Military Academy. Lost River held its first Signing Day last May, when the entire school celebrated students signing on to colleges, universities and the military. The school plans to hold the event again to continue to inspire younger students to think about their futures.

“Eighth-graders mentioned how ‘cool’ it was to see that and be part of that,” Ongman said. “We’ll continue that as a way of highlighting and showcasing our students who are college- and university-bound, trade school-bound, military-bound — all those opportunities past high school.”

Gilchrist School also saw a big jump. It’s graduation rate increased by 14.6 percentage points from 78.26 percent in 2015-16 to 92.86 percent in 2016-17.

Mazama High School saw a 5.5-percent gain from 80.95 percent in 2015-16 to 86.45 percent in 2016-17.

“Great news and a step in the right direction, but we’re not done there,” said Mazama Principal Steve Morosin. “I think we’ve done more of a focus on getting kids through. Making sure they’re doing what they need to be doing.”

Bullock noted Mazama serves all special education students in the district with the BRIDGES and GOALS programs. These students may earn extended diplomas, which do not count toward the four-year graduation rate. It does count toward the five-year completion rate, which was at 90.21 percent for 2016-17 school year and 93.24 percent for the 2015-16 school year.

Holding steady, facing challenges

Two KCSD schools held nearly steady in their graduation rates between 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Henley High School had a nearly perfect graduation rate last year, with 99.25 percent of students graduating in four years in 2015-16. This year, the school maintained a close percentage rate, with 97.92 percent of students earning a four-year diploma. Henley’s five-year completion rate for 2016-17 was 100 percent.

Bonanza Jr./Sr. High School dropped nearly 3 percentage points, from 88.89 percent in 2015-16 to 86.21 percent in 2016-17. Bonanza’s five-year completion rate rose by 10 percentage points, from 87.1 percent in 2015-16, to 97.22 percent in 2016-17.

Chiloquin Jr./Sr. High School had the biggest drop in four-year graduation rate in the district. It’s rate dropped by 17.29 percent, from 85.71 percent in 2015-16 to 68.42 percent in 2016-17. The five-year completion rate remained relatively constant at about 90 percent for both years.

Chiloquin, like many smaller high schools in the district, has small classes of students. In 2017, the class started with 19 students as freshmen and 13 of those students graduated on time in four years, computing to the 68-percent four-year graduation rate. Not included in the four-year rate were two students who received extended diplomas.

“The district is working with Chiloquin administration around school improvement,” Bullock said. “We’re very happy with their five-year completer rate, but we’d like to see students at Chiloquin completing high school in four years. That’s a focus of our efforts there.”