Coffee County Schools System’s graduation rate at all-time high
Data released by the Georgia Department of Education on Wednesday, September 18 shows a significant increase in the graduation rate for the Coffee County School System for the 2018-2019 school year. The overall graduation rate for the school system is 84.16 percent, up from 82.81 percent the previous year. Coffee High School’s graduation rate rose from 87.90 percent to 88.11 percent over the past year, and Wiregrass Regional College and Career Academy saw its graduation rate soar from 56.86 percent to 82 percent.
Georgia calculates a four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate as required by federal law. This rate is the number of students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma divided by the number of students who form the adjusted cohort for the graduating class. From the beginning of ninth grade, students who are entering that grade for the first time form a cohort that is subsequently “adjusted” by adding any students who transfer into the cohort during the next three years, and subtracting any students who transfer out.
While all states use the same calculation, each state sets its own requirements for students to earn a regular high school diploma. Georgia has some of the highest requirements in the nation for students to graduate with a regular diploma. The state graduation rate for 2018-2019 also set an all-time record of 82 percent, up from 81.6 percent for the 2017-2018 school year.
Dr. Morris Leis, superintendent of the Coffee County Schools, stated “Our mission as a school system is Destination Graduation for College, Career and Life. The teachers and all of the faculty and staff have worked extremely hard to help our students achieve this milestone. Destination Graduation is a community effort that every citizen of Coffee County can take pride in and be a part of. We ask everyone in Coffee County to continue to encourage our young people and support our teachers and staff as they educate our youth.”