Board of Ed: graduation rates

The backup for this one is here.
Chester "I wish we could spend three hours on this...very good news"

Bell: graduation rate up to 86.1%
just over 5000 students dropped out of high schools; less than ten years ago, that was 11,000 students
some students who started furthest behind made the greatest strides
nine consecutive years of increased 4 year rates
calculation "does really represent one of the stricter graduation rates across the country"
graduation rate gaps "have narrowed significantly since we started calculating graduation rates back in 2006"
urban districts went from 62.3% to 76.1% "is actually outpacing the state" in growth
it's about a third of the cohort of the total state
(and outpacing the state in growth in nearly every subgroup, for that matter)
all major subgroups lowered their dropout rate for 2014-15
since 2007, have cut the dropout rate in half
"an incredible accomplishment by our districts and our educators"
America's Promise Alliance grant for $200,00 to improve graduation rates for students whose first language is not English
support up to 10 districts on this topic by connecting them to information, resources, and technical assistance: Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, New Bedford, Worcester, Everett, and Revere participating

Peyser: what's working?
Bell: multiple pathways to children to allow them to succeed

Sagan "the data is great, but I think it reminds us that there's still work to be done"