High school graduation completion rates are on the rise across the province, and that includes Powell River. BC Ministry of Education released data last week showing the greatest gains among indigenous students and those with special needs.
Locally, the six-year completion rate, which looks at the proportion of students graduating within six years of beginning grade eight, was up slightly for the 2016/2017 school year at 73.6 per cent, compared with 72.9 per cent in the same period one year earlier. Among aboriginal students, the rate increased from 56.5 per cent to 62.9 per cent.
The overall graduation rate in the province is 84 per cent.
“For us, we found our eligible grad rate was about 88 per cent, which was good,” said School District 47 superintendent Jay Yule.
The eligible graduation rate includes students who are enrolled in enough courses at the beginning of the school year to allow them to graduate within that year. In Powell River, that number dropped one percentage point from one year earlier. However, provincial statistics did not account for 28 students in School District 47 who were dual-enrolled in the district to take part in continuing education programs.
When students are dual-enrolled, they are counted as non-graduates, said Yule.
“It’s really important to unfold the grad rate because of the small numbers we have,” said Yule. “We lead the province in dual-credit programs with the percentage of students in those programs and we see that as successful.”
