By Abigail W. Adams
Wiscasset High School Class Marshals Erika Auger and Josh Hodgdon lead the 2015 graduating class during rehearsal on Tuesday, June 9. (Paula Roberts photo) |
Wiscasset High School once held the title for the lowest graduation rate in Maine. It is a distinction the school has lost.
Forty-two seniors from the class of 2015 will walk across the stage to accept diplomas Thursday, June 11 in the Wiscasset High School gymnasium.
According to Principal Cheri Towle, it is the same number of students who walked into Wiscasset High School at the start of the school year.
“Improving the graduation rate has been a goal for the entire school,” Towle said. A number of factors influenced the upward trend in graduation rates, she said, specifically the hard work of students and teachers.
Wiscasset had the lowest graduation rate in the state for 2012-2013 at 63.3 percent. The rate jumped by approximately 10 percent for 2013-2014 to 73.5 percent, according to data released from the Maine Department of Education in April.
In its first year as an independent school district, the Wiscasset School Department is on track to continue the upward trend.
The Maine Department of Education calculates graduation rates based on an algorithm that only factors in “on-time graduates,” or students who graduate within four years of entering the ninth grade.
Due to the parameters used to form Maine Department of Education statistics, the graduation rates may differ from the schools. According to the Maine Department of Education, thirty-six students graduated from Wiscasset High School in 2013-2014.
According to Towle, there were 42 graduates that year. Forty-two students will also walk with the class of 2015, including one student who already graduated and will return to walk with the class. In addition to the class of 2015, four adult education students earned their diplomas.
Through an increased focus on individual student needs, an emphasis on intervention and support, and providing alternative methods for students to demonstrate their understanding of academic material, Wiscasset High School has been able to help its students succeed, Towle said.
With a high school diploma soon to be listed on their résumés, Wiscasset’s class of 2015 graduates are preparing for the next phase of their life. Of the 42 graduates, 30 students plan to attend college, 11 intend to join the workforce, and one student will attend college as an enlisted member of the military.
Many graduates were accepted to well-respected private colleges and universities but opted to attend state schools due to the cost of higher education, Towle said. “They’ve done a great job,” she said.
