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PHS grad rate tops 95%

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PHS grad rate tops 95%

PHOENIX - Phoenix High School’s on-time graduation rate for the 2020-21 school year was even higher than predicted, according to the Oregon Department of Education’s final tally.

Phoenix High’s four-year graduation rate for the 2020-21 school year was believed to be about 93% based on the ODE’s at-a-glance district profile released last fall, but after factoring in transfers the final number stands at 95.24 % (140 of 147 students graduated). That’s the best four-year graduation rate in the Rogue Valley and about 14 points better than the state average (80.6%).

“These incredible numbers reflect the resiliency and can-do attitude of our students, families and staff,” Phoenix-Talent superintendent Brent Barry said. “The perseverance that this community has shown over the last two years has been inspiring, and these graduation rates are just further confirmation that this is a special place. I believe that we have the best staff around – from our administrators to our teachers to our support staff, everybody here cares deeply about each and every student that walks through those doors. And I’m just so impressed with these students and what they’ve managed to accomplish in the face of so many obstacles because when it comes down to it they’re the ones that have to do the work.”

Barry also noted the district’s many critical partnerships with organizations such as Talent Maker City, Project Youth Plus and TRIO.

A few notes regarding the updated graduation rates:

  • Phoenix High’s Hispanic/Latino, Multi-Racial, Students with Disabilities and Migrant cohorts all graduated at a greater-than-95% clip.

  • Phoenix High’s homeless students had a 93.65% on-time graduation rate (59 of 63).

  •  Phoenix High’s on-time graduation rate was 92.9% in 2019-20 and 92.07 in 2018-19.

  • Phoenix High’s Students with Disabilities graduation percentage (adjusted cohort of 22) was at least nine points better than any other school in the valley and at least a 13-point improvement over the previous school year.

  • Each adjusted cohort begins with students who first entered high school in a given school year, which was the 2017-18 school year for this report. The ODE then adds to a cohort those students who transferred into a school from homeschooling, private schools or outside Oregon and remove from a cohort students who have a documented transfer out of Oregon public schools, emigrated to another country or died.

  • The four-year cohort graduation rate is the percentage of students in the adjusted cohort who earned a regular or modified high school diploma within four years of their first enrollment in high school.

  • The Phoenix-Talent School District’s overall four-year graduation rate for 2020-21 was 92.39% because it includes the local charter school Armadillo Technical Institute, which had an on-time graduation rate of 81.08% (30 of 37).

The latest numbers, available through the ODE and Phoenix-Talent SD upon request, are embargoed until 6 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 20. An ODE slide deck explaining the numbers has been attached.