January 24, 2020 3:35 a.m.
Graduation rates at Roseburg High are holding steady, according to data released on Thursday by the Oregon Department of Education.
Information from Roseburg Public Schools said the new statistics indicate that current efforts to help students finish high school are working but that more supports are needed.
The school’s 2018-19 four-year cohort graduation rate, which tracks students who first entered high school in 2015-16 was 76.46 percent, nearly unchanged from the 2017-18 rate. The school’s drop out rate, meanwhile, fell from 2.03 percent in 2017-18 to 1.12 percent.
The release said that by comparison, the state’s average graduation rate for 2018-19 reached 80 percent, while the state’s average drop-out rate was 3.26 percent.
RHS Principal Jill Weber said “we are encouraged that our graduation rate has remained steady, but we realize that we must continue our hard work and find even more ways to support students so that we can get that rate to rise”.
Weber said that four-year graduation rate does not include students who earned GEDs or alternative certificates, or students who remain enrolled in high school. The RHS completer rate, which includes GED earners is 82.78 percent. She said the percentage rises to 87 percent when factoring in alternative certificates and students who remain enrolled.
The release said work to bolster supports for students struggling in high school will continue. RHS has implemented multiple programs over the past few years to ensure students remain on track to graduate. Those programs have helped raise the percentage of freshman on track to graduate to 90 percent, which is an indication that graduation rates will rise in coming years.
The release said with incoming financial support from the Student Investment Account, which was part of the Student Success Act passed into law last year, even more resources will become available throughout the district to support not only student’s academic needs, but their increasing social-emotional needs.
Read the full Roseburg Public Schools release on the data, as part of our on-line story at www.541radio.com
Release from Roseburg Public Schools:
RHS graduation rates remain stable
Jan. 23, 2020 – Graduation rates at Roseburg High School are holding steady, according to data released today by the Oregon Department of Education, indicating that current efforts to help students finish high school are working but that more supports are needed.
The high school’s 2018-19 four-year cohort graduation rate, which tracks students who first entered high school in 2015-16, was 76.46 percent, nearly unchanged from the 2017-18 rate. The school’s drop-out rate, meanwhile, fell from 2.03 percent in 2017-18 to 1.12 percent.
By comparison, the state’s average graduation rate for 2018-19 reached 80 percent, while the state’s average drop-out rate was 3.26 percent.
“We are encouraged that our graduation rate has remained steady, but we realize that we must continue our hard work and find even more ways to support students so that we can get that rate to rise,” said RHS Principal Jill Weber.
It’s important, Weber added, to examine all aspects of the data that ODE tracks. The four-year graduation rate, for example, does not include students who earned GEDs or alternative certificates or students who remain enrolled in the high school. The high school’s completer rate, which includes GED earners, is 82.78 percent. The percentage rises to 87 percent when factoring in alternative certificates and students who remain enrolled.
“We consider every student who earns a diploma or alternative award a success; we consider every student who remains enrolled into a fifth year to complete high school a success,” Weber said. “Our goal is to ensure all of our students complete high school and leave with a plan for their future.”
Work to bolster supports for students struggling in high school will continue. RHS has implemented multiple programs over the past few years to ensure students remain on track to graduate. These programs have helped raise the percentage of freshmen on track to graduate to 90 percent, an indication that graduation rates will rise in coming years. Counselors at RHS also attempt to maintain contact with students who have dropped out in efforts to find solutions that will allow them to return to school.
With incoming financial support from the Student Investment Account, which was part of the Student Success Act passed into law last year, even more resources will become available throughout the district to support not only students’ academic needs, but their increasing social-emotional needs.
“Students are entering our district with social-emotional needs that are more diverse than ever,” said Director of Teaching and Learning Michelle Knee. “These needs, and whether our schools are equipped with the required staff and resources to address them, have a direct effect on whether students reach success their senior year in high school.”
Other notable information from today’s report:

• Roseburg School District’s overall graduation rate was 59.89 percent for 2018-19, slightly lower than the previous year. The overall graduation rate includes Roseburg High School, Phoenix Charter School and the newly accredited Rose Alternative School. Non-completers may include, for example, former students who have entered the juvenile justice system, who may have moved out of the district and did not re-enroll in another district or who entered home-schooling.
• The four-year cohort graduation rate for Phoenix School fell to 13.92 percent, while the completer rate was 25.32 percent.
• The four-year cohort graduation rate for Rose Alternative was 33.33 percent, while the completer rate was 53.33 percent.
• Roseburg School District students who are choosing to concentrate on Career and Technical Education studies continue to see higher graduation rates. The district’s CTE concentrator graduation rate for 2018-19 was 83.81 percent. Roseburg High School’s rate was 86.7 percent.