On-time graduation rates above 90%
St. Vrain Valley’s graduation rate continued an upward trajectory with the class of 2023, giving St. Vrain the highest on-time graduation rate among the state’s 10 largest school districts, according to Colorado Department of Education data.
St. Vrain Valley’s on-time graduation rate is 93.3%, up from 91.5% the previous year.
“We’re just very, very proud,” St. Vrain Superintendent Don Haddad said. “All of these students are graduating and starting off their life after high school in a really strong position. It opens lots of doors.”
Boulder Valley’s on-time graduation rate held steady at 91.5%. Statewide, the graduation rate increased to 83.1% for on-time graduation, up from 82.3% in 2022.
“BVSD’S graduation rate remains stable and continues to significantly outpace the state average,” Boulder Valley Deputy Superintendent Lora de la Cruz said in a written statement. “Our focus is to continue to build engaging, relevant and inspiring opportunities so that more students not only reach graduation, but to ensure they are better prepared for whatever they choose to pursue in life.”
Reducing achievement gaps has been a priority for both school districts.
For St. Vrain’s Hispanic students, the district’s four-year graduation rate is at 88.3%, about the same as the previous year. At 88%, the district’s Hispanic graduation also is the highest among the state’s 10 largest school districts — and is up from about 55% a dozen years ago, before the district raised its graduation requirements to be among the highest in the state.
St. Vrain requires 24.5 credits to graduate, including three years of math and science. The district also has added more advanced classes, career and technical certification classes and the option to earn an associate degree along with a high school diploma through P-TECH — or Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools — programs.
“Looking at Denver metro area school districts, to outperform them on the graduation rate while
you also have higher requirements is significant,” Haddad said.
For Boulder Valley’s Hispanic students, the district’s graduation rate is 81%, down slightly from 81.8% the year before.
Dropout rates for Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley remain under 1%. The statewide dropout rate is 2.1%, with 9,665 students leaving the education system in grades seven through 12.
St. Vrain’s overall dropout rate is 0.6%, down from 0.9% in 2022. When alternative schools are excluded,
the dropout rate is less than 0.5%. The dropout rate for Hispanic students is 1%, down from 1.6% the year before.
Deputy superintendent Jackie Kapushion said district efforts include keeping students engaged in activities and sports, offering an eighth- to ninth-grade transition program, providing after-school tutoring, offering online credit recovery classes year round, and having counselor and administrator teams track student progress toward graduation. Seniors also meet twice a year for a check-in with a counselor.
She added the low dropout and high graduation rates reflect elementary
and middle school efforts. Teachers at all levels, she said, spend time outside the school day leading activities after school and on Saturdays, tutoring, holding study halls and teaching in summer school and transition programs.
“It really is a priority that every single student gets across that finish line,” she said. “It’s an all hands on deck result.”
Boulder Valley’s overall dropout rate dipped to 0.8%, from 0.9% the year before. When alternative schools are excluded, the district’s dropout rate falls to less than 0.5%. The district’s Hispanic dropout rate is 2.1%, the same as the previous year.