Interim DC Public Schools (DCPS) Chancellor Amanda Alexander issued the following statement on the School Year 2017-2018 graduation rate released by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

“I am proud of the 2,273 graduates who met our standards of excellence, and thankful to the school leaders, staff, students and families for their hard work and commitment last school year and this summer. DCPS has:

• Engaged our school communities to update our attendance, promotion, grading, and graduation policies;
• Created a Family Guide and provided training at every high school to ensure our community can navigate those policies;
• Focused on meeting the needs of each individual student by hosting resource fairs at every comprehensive high school;
• Met with students and their families to discuss their path to graduation;
• Increased communication and engagement with our stakeholders by creating the Office of Integrity and five new Advisory Boards for community members and parents;
• Improved our systems for monitoring student data; and
• Enhanced Summer School options so that every student has a chance to earn a high school diploma.

In our strategic plan, A Capital Commitment, DCPS made a commitment to equity and excellence, and we continue to strive toward our goal of increasing the number of students – especially students of color – who are college and career ready. We have more work to do and I remain focused on ensuring every DCPS student can reach their full potential and maintaining transparent and strong systems so that students, families, and the community are confident in the value of a DCPS diploma.”

Learn more about the graduation rate release here: dcps.dc.gov/graduation.