Lynn graduation rates steadily improve

LYNN – Three of the four public high schools in Lynn enjoyed an increase in four-year graduation rates from 2007-2008, keeping in line with an overall improvement statewide according to numbers released Thursday by the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.According to statistics from the DOE, Classical High School improved the most of the three traditional schools, jumping from 77.4 percent of students graduating in four years in 2007 to 81 percent last year. At Lynn Vocational and Technical Institute, 61.2 percent of students who entered school in 2004 graduated last year, up from 59.4 percent in the 2007 survey.Lynn English High School was the only school that did not improve, but remained steady with 76.7 percent of students graduating in four years.The Career Development Center, an alternative high school program housed in the Fecteau-Leary Junior/Senior High School on North Common Street, made a huge jump in graduation percentage over the past two years, improving from 39.5 to 57.1 percent.As a district, Lynn as a whole improved from 68.5 percent to 70.5 percent from 2007-2008.Much of the improvement can be attributed to the addition of MCAS preparation and tutoring programs at the schools, which include some programs where teachers volunteer their time to stay after school and on Saturdays to help students.The addition of work study programs and college credit programs at North Shore Community College, Salem State and Marian Court have also prepared students for life after high school.Statistics are kept by the DOE for both four and five year graduation rates at every high school in the state, and that board is required to submit information to the U.S. Department of Education for federal accountability purposes for No Child Left Behind.The new results are released more than a year after the state DOE bolstered its graduation requirements under NCLB. The state board voted in January 2008 to raise the minimum four year graduation rate for a district from 55 to 60 percent to avoid placement on the commissioner’s warning list.”A high school diploma is a student’s gateway to higher education, a career and a life,” said Education Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester. “I am pleased to see our graduation rate continuing to rise, but remain concerned about the impact that transience, poverty and ethnicity continue to have on student achievement.”According to the report, several particular areas of concern are glaring in diverse communities such as Lynn, including the performance of Hispanic males, just 52.6 percent who graduated statewide and had a dropout rate of 28 percent.In contrast, limited English proficiency students improved by 2.5 percentage points statewide in 2008, and special education students enjoyed a 1.3 percentage point improvement.The release also states that 60 percent of students who return for a fifth year of high school in the state earn some sort of competency determination.”Our top priority has to be to ensure every student is educated to the same high standards and provided with the same opportunities and support they need to complete high school and graduate college and career-ready,” said Chester. “This report clearly identifies several subgroups of students who are not receiving the services and support they need to be successful. I encourage school districts to take a close look at the data for their high schools and begin to develop an action plan to ensure that all students graduate from high school prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century.”